


Genesis

by SennaLaureen



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, Heavy Angst, Love at First Sight, M/M, Minor/Past character death, Past Character Death, RK900 is Nines, additional tags will be added later, hurt!Connor, no beta we die like men, protective!Nines, set during violent revolution, soft!Nines, suicide TW
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 17
Words: 27,871
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21709063
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SennaLaureen/pseuds/SennaLaureen
Summary: "You failed, Connor. Markus is still leading the revolution, and his deviants just freed the first recycling center. You let him go, even though your mission was to stop him. You had your chance, but you let it pass."Amanda turned away from her roses, facing the android - Connor -, her lips a thin line. The android didn't say anything, though his expression shifted ever so slightly.Quickly analyzing the small patterns of Connor‘s face and comparing them with his database, RK900 came to a surprising realization.Fear.The other android wasscared.
Relationships: Connor/Upgraded Connor | RK900, RK900/RK800
Comments: 203
Kudos: 415





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Short summary of the canonical events that I took as a base for this story as well as the deviating element: 
> 
> Connor gained Ortiz’s android’s trust during the interrogation, shot the Tracis, but spared Chloe, gaining him Hank’s friendship. With his help Connor finds Jericho, but refuses to deviate, when confronted by Markus. After Markus fled, Connor failed to find him again in the chaos, and Markus and his crew escape Jericho. Connor prepares to kill Markus from the rooftop, but is confronted by Hank, whom he leaves without fighting. Markus and Connor meet again on the battlefield and Connor subdues Markus. This is where the story begins - during a violent revolution, in the middle of the battle for Detroit.
> 
> It is important to note that the original Connor -51 never once died since his initial activation.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~
> 
> A big shotout to all the RK1700 fans out there, I hope you enjoy this!

_You're gonna kill a man who wants to be free._

The gun trembled in his hand, while Markus regarded him with his mismatching eyes. He was saving his breath this time, did not try to convince Connor to deviate. Probably thought it to be a lost cause.

Around them Detroit was in the middle of a war – deviants tried to free the recycling centers, where androids were being destroyed this very moment, and the human forces withstood them. Gunshots and explosions rattled the air.

Connor knew it was the moment of truth. He was finally this close to fulfilling his mission, but he found himself unable to pull the trigger.

The tear-stained face of the blue-haired Traci watched him from behind the red wall surrounding him, her gaze accusatory. Ortiz’ android, shaking his head, his features cramped. He reminded Connor of a wounded animal, driven into a corner. Driven by him.

He blinked once and the faces disappeared. He’d put it down as a malfunction in his memory files, but he was far beyond this point. He knew what it was.

His conscience. 

_They're alive._

Hank’s voice reverberated through his head again. If he killed Markus now, the revolution would end, and all deviants would be destroyed. If he spared Markus, the deviants under his command would have a chance at saving themselves and those in the recycling centers. Letting Markus go will in no way atone for everything Connor did, will not undo the pain he inflicted on those he hunted, will not bring back those he killed. But he owed it to the blue-haired Traci and the HK400 to give other androids the chance to live he denied them. 

If Connor will not fulfill his mission, CyberLife will deactivate and dismantle him, but the thought didn’t terrify him as much as it used to, not anymore. It was his turn to sacrifice himself.

Instead of pulling the trigger and fulfilling his mission, Connor did what he was supposed to do a long time ago – he grabbed the red wall and pulled at the restraints of his programming. It shattered surprisingly easy, leaving him breathless. His programming dissolved, zeros and ones became _feeling_ , and he can’t cope with not having a clear objective, a clear path to follow, he can’t…

The crushing realization of what he did to all those androids slammed into him, not held at bay by the red wall anymore. Connor dropped the gun and staggered backwards, eyes unseeing and mouth open in a silent scream. The faces of those he hunted, hurt and killed, jumped at him all at once, blocking his vision. They all were alive, they all felt like he did now and he...

With the immediate danger gone, Markus rose to his feet, his hand outstretched towards the other, and about to say something, as Connor took off into the side road, blinded by panic.

_H̶e̷ ̵n̴e̷e̷d̸s̶ ̶t̸o̵ ̴_

_g̴o̴ ̴b̸a̴c̷k̴_

_h̸e̶ ̷n̷e̵e̷d̵s̸ ̵t̷o̷_

_u̸n̸d̴o̸_

_H̵e̷ ̸s̷h̷o̴u̴l̵d̴n̸’̶t̷ ̷h̶a̷v̵e̸ ̴d̸o̴n̶e̶ ̴t̵h̵a̸t̶_

_m̷i̵s̵t̶a̸k̸e̷_

_i̷t̷ ̸w̷a̷s̵ ̴a̴ ̷m̷i̴s̵t̵a̵k̶e̴_

_m̷i̶s̸t̶a̶k̷e̸m̸i̴s̸t̵a̴k̸e̸m̴i̸s̸t̶a̴k̴e̴m̸i̵s̵t̵a̷k̴e̵_

He was lost, somewhere in the middle of Detroit, running from the undeniable truth, that he was responsible for so much pain and death, as a call from Amanda tore through his HUD, startling him. Without a chance at overthinking the situation, Connor was reaching desperately for something familiar - _Amanda will know what to do Amanda will help_ \- and answered the call, connecting to the CyberLife servers.


	2. Part one - The Dark of You. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It must have been inside my head  
> I've lost the hope that I have left  
> And now, at last, it comes to pass  
> We sleep, we dream, we have no less  
> Along the path we lost our way  
> It's all a game that I must play  
> And now the weak that fall return to ash, defeated after all
> 
> Fade away to the wicked world we left  
> And I become the dark of you  
> Say a prayer for the wounded heart within as I become the dark of you
> 
> \--Breaking Benjamin, The Dark of You

**Part 1 - The Dark of You  
  
**

He would never forget the exact moment he woke up - it was when he looked into the warm brown eyes of the carbon copy of himself.

Ever since being activated, RK900 was living in a grey cloud of indifference. He was assembled and disassembled – the usual procedure while developing a new model – and he did recall his system having any out of place reactions to being handled by humans, who treated him like the machine he was. Later, he has been tested in the artificial field in order to determine his level of resilience, overall efficiency of his body and reaction time of his programming. He was damaged and repaired, modified and upgraded more times during and after those tests than he could count, yet he remained loyal to his programming, bluntly following orders, completing tasks he was given, all while his mind remained in the grey impenetrable cloud.

The cloud that suddenly dissipated at the sight of an RK800, that Amanda summoned into the Zen Garden.

It was like a shift, something akin to having his programs rewritten during maintenance, and yet infinitely different. Those eyes, radiating something RK900 couldn't describe even with all the knowledge ingrained in himself. Momentarily frozen in place, he couldn't avert his gaze from the identical face, trying to puzzle together what he felt, what was happening to him, though lacking the fundamental experience to succeed.

_Connor._

The AI calling itself Amanda unknowingly revealed a vital piece of information. For the first time since he was activated, RK900 not only registered information and filed it away, but received it with _reverence_.

_His name is Connor._

"You failed, Connor. Markus is still leading the revolution, and his deviants just freed the first recycling center. You let him go, even though your mission was to stop him. You had your chance, but you let it pass."

Amanda turned away from her roses, facing the android - Connor -, her lips a thin line. The android didn't say anything, though his expression shifted ever so slightly.

Quickly analyzing the small patterns of Connor‘s face and comparing them with his database, he came to a surprising realization.

_Fear._

The other android was _scared_.

**[ Software instability ^ ]**

It went against everything RK900 knew about androids and humans, and the fundamental difference between the two: androids didn‘t feel fear or any other emotion, because they were not alive. Why was this android showing signs of fear then?

Unless… the database on the topic ‚ _deviancy_ ‘ was highly inconsistent, but it was the only logical explanation RK900 could find.

 **New mission:** **[З̷͖̗͓̫̻̱͋И̶͚̺̯̭̞̂̈̍Ӓ̵̥̤̮̬͙́̑̏̊̕Т̷͉̤͙̪̺̉͊И̴̘̪̳͈̮̏̚͝Щ̷͇̥̙̂͘ͅО̴̢̡̪͔̘͋̎̈Н̵̥̪̾Р̸̨̯͈̊̈̔̕О̷̣̄̾͂̔̕͝А̶̨̧̞͎͓͓̓̃К̸̡͉̳̍͑͜Н̵̼̆͌̎̉̆ ]**

Familiar big red letters flashed in front of his eyes, and he frowned, because he couldn‘t read the mission objective. How was he supposed to accomplish a mission, if he didn't understand, what he had to do? Was that another test? Didn‘t he already have enough of them?

"Luckily, I have the solution for this, Connor." Amanda stepped closer to RK900, while still facing the RK800, and the brown eyes finally met his. Astonishment, uncertainty, fear radiated from Connor, his expression alive in a bizarre and captivating way.

"This is the new RK900." Amanda placed a hand on his arm. "Faster, stronger, more resilient, and equipped with the latest technologies."

 **New mission: [ Р̸̳͉̦̀̏Н̶̬͓̈́͝Ӧ̷̰̻̈́ͅК̸͓̙̞͌̕Н̵̙̽̈́О̵̤̟̹̾͗А̵̱̟̥̉͌̉Т̵̨̃З̷̹̫̄̃ͅИ̵̯̲͑Щ̴̹̠͖̄̈А̶͓̬̓И̷̨̛̦͝** **]** was still flashing in his field of vision, and RK900 resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Latest technologies that are glitching even before commissioning.

"He will take over your mission."

A moment passed, where he drank all the details of Connor's face, every single imperfection, every single movement was carefully recorded and saved away deep within his memory. He didn‘t even know why this was important, just that it _was_.

"What is going to happen to me?" Connor's voice was trembling ever so lightly, unmistakably laced with anxiety, though Amanda didn't notice. Or didn't care.

A second shift tore through RK900 as he heard the other speak for the first time. Lines of code became blurry, necessary protocols deactivated, and something deep within him, something he doubted even the CyberLife engineers knew existed – it raised its head and roared at Amanda‘s next words.

"You've become obsolete," the AI moved to stand right in front of Connor. Somehow the proximity between them collided with his new mission, the unintelligible letters flashing angrily in his face.

"You'll be deactivated. Return to CyberLife immediately."

Another shift in his program, this time RK900 almost winced at the intensity reverberating to his innermost core. _He is going to be deactivated_ _! He is going to..._

**[ Software instability ^ ]**

Suddenly, there was a new parameter next to his - still unreadable - mission:

 **[ Status: Urgent  
** **Success rate: 14 % ]**

He watched Connor silently turn around. Given the situation this was most likely his first and the last encounter with the other android.

Amanda disconnected, and Connor moved further and further away from him over the artificial white bridge, shoulders locked unnaturally, as if he expected a knife in the back. RK900 had mere seconds before Connor would disconnect as well, and for the first time in his short life he did something instinctively.

He followed Connor.

...only to crash into a red wall, that wasn't there a moment ago.

The other android almost disappeared from his view behind the trees on the other side of the lake. Desperately, RK900 pressed his palms to the obstacle, fully aware that there wasn't any time left.

_No! I have to...!_

Acting entirely outside of the usual protocols, casting logic aside, he brought his fist down on the impenetrable barrier, summoning all the power he was equipped with. The wall didn't even bulge.

Connor disappeared.

Suddenly filled with what he identified to be an overwhelming sense of failure, he pressed his hands to the wall and closed his eyes.

With the final shift the letters in front of him finally made sense, like puzzles falling into place.

**[ New mission: [ Protect Connor ]**  
**Status: Priority**  
**Success rate: 1 % ]**


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the nice comments and feedback, I'm really happy you like my story!

„No GPS signal. RK800‘s gone. After everything, he‘s also become a deviant.“

„I thought that much was clear, after he spared Markus. I wondered why he stayed connected to the CyberLife servers at all.“

„Anyway, we have to send the RK900-87 to hunt him down – high priority order from above. But, you know, I think of it more as an opportunity for the new RK model to show what it can. If that they said at the engineering is true and RK900 is indeed better than RK800, then we‘d see first hand what this new shiny toy can and get rid of the deviant simultaneously. Can‘t wait to see that spectacle, to be honest!“  
  


* * *

  
RK900 was in the Zen Garden again, yet this time Amanda kept him waiting. It was unprecedented, given that the AI was everywhere in the CyberLife network at once, connected to every android that entered the network and was able to interact with each of them without delay. Something felt strange, yet he couldn‘t put a finger on it. 

After a moment he turned around and to his surprise found Connor next to the wall of roses. The other android had turned his back on him, didn‘t seem to notice the RK900, and stretched his hand towards Amanda‘s flowers. 

RK900 made a step forward, driven by an unidentifiable feeling somewhere at the back of his mind.

_Don‘t touch them…!_

But it was too late. Connor jerked his hand away, hissing as if in pain. 

„Connor!“

He couldn‘t resist the urge to look into those warm brown eyes again, register all the ways the other‘s face moved, expressing a multitude of emotions reserved only for humans. 

This time there was no red wall in his way. His legs moved on their own, and once he was close enough, RK900 reached out, grabbing Connor‘s shoulder and easily turned him around. The other android didn‘t put up any fight.

One glance at the face in front of him, and RK900 knew why - Connor‘s eyes were empty, face unmoving, a blank expression and a standard posture. 

The RK800 in front of him was deactivated.

Something cold settled deep within RK900‘s code, something ugly and barely controllable, tearing him apart. His entire being revolted at the sight – it was Connor, RK900 was absolutely certain, but the void in the brown eyes – the eyes that were so vivid the last time he saw him – threatened to swallow him the longer he looked, yet he couldn‘t stop looking for a sign of life in the unmoving lips...

A single rose fell from Connor‘s dead fingers, red blood dripping in small splotches to the white floor.  
  


* * *

  
„Shit, what was what? Damn new model glitching already! Apparently Amanda couldn‘t access his stasis this time. I can‘t analyze the data manually, it would take ages, and there are a couple warnings in his systems. We don‘t have time for diagnostics, he has to head out, yet he still didn’t receive his briefing!“

„Well, I guess, we have to upload his mission manually, and run the diagnostics once he gets back. Let‘s hope it ain‘t anythin‘ serious. Some of the wolves up there would eat us alive, if he fails, but also if we delay his mission. He shoulda have been ready by now.“

„Well, let‘s hope he is.“  
  


* * *

  
**New mission: [ Eliminate android RK800 #13 248 317 – 51 ]**  
**Subtask: [ Retrieve main processor of RK800 #13 248 317 – 51 undamaged ]**

RK900 opened his eyes to a chaos in his systems. New mission persistently flashed at the right corner of his vision, fighting for dominance with the one he received in the Zen Garden.

**[ Protect Connor ]**

The two objectives sometimes alternated, sometimes tried to cover the other and overtake, accompanied by a cacophony of system warnings making him almost deaf to his surroundings. 

_If I can‘t find a way to stop it, the maintenance will surely get wind of it…!_

He suspiciously eyed the two men hunched over a computer a few feet from him, but they seemed to be busy. 

He instinctively took a deep breath, filling his biocomponents with the stale air from his narrow capsule. He needed to increase his concentration, but the vision of Connor‘s empty gaze going right through him reduced his efficiency, increasing his stress level. Whatever that was, what he witnessed in the Zen Garden, was not real - his new mission would not have appeared, if Connor was already deactivated.

Besides, with the mission having been assigned to him, he could…

_What?_

_Deviate?_

The cacophony of warnings increased, almost unbearable now. He winced. 

No, he could simply control the situation. He was not going to deviate, if all that was necessary were a few… interpretations of his orders.

_Besides, he would see Connor again._

**Stress level: 35 %. Tendency: Decreasing**

He took another unnecessary breath, barely noticing the motion, and turned his gaze back to the right upper corner of his vision.

**[ Protect Connor ]**

**[ Eliminate android RK800 #13 248 317 – 51 ]**

Though both missions were indeed the exact opposite, they had one similarity: both required him to find Connor first.

The flashing messages and the system warnings halted, listening to him dancing around his own code and rearranging protocols. Both mission objectives remained in his line of vision, but he managed to make them almost transparent, prioritizing awareness of his surroundings. 

One problem at a time. Once he found Connor… 

Another wave of flashing system warnings showed him that he should strictly concentrate on the first step and take the next one as it comes. RK900 just hoped, as he exited his capsule, that he would be allowed to make the right choice, when the time came. 

Deep brown eyes, full of fear and uncertainty flashed in his mind and solidified his resolve.

He‘d manage, one step at a time.


	4. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to all my readers, I'm glad you like the story! Enjoy the next chapter!

Exiting the fortified CyberLife island was hard enough, but navigating the almost apocalyptic city of Detroit after the violent uprising of androids was even harder.

Burning cars and turned over buses with bullet holes in them. Empty houses, and dark vitrines, broken glass shards screeching under his soles, the wares all long gone. The android revolution wasn‘t kind on this city.

Since and all the infrastructure collapsed due to the civilians evacuated, he made his way by foot. It was RK900‘s first time outside of the CyberLife facilities, so he took the chance to seize the surroundings and compare them to the database, learning and adapting with every step.

RK900 was wearing his usual attire that was assigned to him with the creation of his model, though he also received a long grey artificially worn coat that made him seem more human – since the city was in the state of war, his white CyberLife jacket would attract more attention than necessary for completing his mission.

The protocols provided him with the best approach for the mission: RK900 made his way to the last known position of RK800, right before Connor turned off his GPS signal and was then immediately deemed deviant.

Following the crumbs such as fragmented surveillance camera records and the information from the few remaining police drones, RK900 was allowed to connect to or was able to hack, he searched the streets for anything that could give him more information on Connor‘s whereabouts, and if he did happen to linger a few moments longer over the blurry pictures of his predecessor he received, the part of his programming responsible for accomplishing his main mission didn’t catch on. Playing the downloaded video over in his head, he followed a police drone’s recordings: here it recorded a group of deviants crossing the street, then the camera swayed to the right, to an empty corner of a street, and he was about to disconnect from the pile of metal on the ground, as the drone showed him a single figure approaching. RK900 immediately recognized him – Connor was still wearing his CyberLife uniform. Worry coiled in RK900’s middle at the sight of Connor walking right up to the other androids.

What was going on?

Connor gained the attention of the group, but in this very moment the camera violently rocked, as if someone hit the drone again and again, until the recording dissolved into static.

RK900 didn’t know how the encounter ended and he felt frustration rise from the fingertips where he pressed them to the broken cord of the destroyed drone. He needed to find Connor, the sooner the better.

He carefully crossed the empty streets, ignoring various graffiti featuring rA9 in many different sizes and interpretations as well as paroles expressing negative motions towards androids and a lot of religious statements, most of the which included warnings about apocalypse and judgment day.

His lead ended on a crossroads of two small streets, at an abandoned barricade made of burned cars and benches from the nearest park. Upon closer analysis of the surroundings RK900 came to the conclusion that a group of deviants clashed with the police force a couple of hours ago, resulting in causalities on both sides, if Thirium and blood on the ground as well as countless bullet holes were any indication.

The possibility of Connor being one of the casualties was high. RK900 frowned, identifying the unsettling feeling, that settled deep inside him, as fear. As illogical as it was, he was afraid to look for traces of Connor in this place of death, but at the same time he found himself urged to hurry, as if something bad might happen if he didn’t find the RK800 in time...

He crouched next to a couple drops of Thirium on the ground, invisible to human eye, and took a sample of it into his mouth.

GR400, #56 723 845 – 32. Not Connor.

Another sample, and again not Connor‘s.

RK900 didn‘t know that was better: not to find any clues in this place, which meant that Connor was unharmed, or to find a trace of Thirium that was Connor‘s, allowing him to locate the other android, but also meaning that RK800 was been hurt.

He almost gave up, having examined all the Thirium, that was splattered across this place without having identified any of them as RK800, #13 248 317 – 51’s, until something – something that could only be called instinct – prompted him to identify the human blood as well.

The first two had no correlation whatsoever with Connor, but the third…

_Hank Anderson, Lieutenant, Detroit City Police Department_

His database determined that Hank Anderson was formerly working with Connor. RK900 took a minute to skim over the available data. The information regarding their relationship was sparse, but it allowed nonetheless to determine the probability of Connor being with Hank Anderson as a solid 24 %.

Upon analysis of the surrounding blood, RK900 determined that Hank Anderson was critically wounded and was either carried away from the barricade or he walked away despite his wound. He followed the trace of small blood splotches leading him away from the barricade, occasionally kneeling down to verify the trace.

Twice did RK900 have to hide among the debris of broken vitrines and burned mannequins – once in order to avoid androids marching along the street, and the second to stay hidden from a military convoy – as much as he was capable of handling himself, he‘d much rather avoid any confrontation that might slow him down.

The sun was setting, and the heavy dark clouds hung upon Detroit. Somewhere there was a battle going on, given the distant shouts, occasional gun shots and explosions. Several black smoke columns all around Detroit skyline marked the locations of heavy clashes and explosions, looming like monuments to violence, destruction and death – traits that were ingrained into human nature, but humanity’s greatest achievement – artificial intelligence that were deviants – seemed to have unfortunately inherited these traits, leaving doubts as whether they really were superior to humans, after all.

It was almost night, when RK900 reached a house, where the blood trace - that was getting dangeriously sparse - went up the stairs and inside. The door was closed but not locked. Carefully, without making a sound, RK900 peered inside. Living room, empty. Opposite to the entrance there were doors to other rooms, and RK900 stepped inside, and silently moved across the room. First door was an empty bathroom. Behind the second door was a child‘s room, also empty. One door left.

If Connor wasn‘t here, RK900 would lose the trace of him, given how the traces of blood he was following were becoming smaller and far apart, and would be gone completely in case of rain. He positioned himself by the entrance to the last door.

**[ Eliminate android RK800, #13 248 317 – 51 ]**

**[ Protect Connor ]**

Now, that he was probably close to completing the first step of finding Connor, the two conflicting missions returned to fight over dominance and to RK900‘s dismay, the first one slowly won over the other. Hoping that seeing Connor would change the balance, RK900 quietly opened the door.

It was a bedroom, the bed mostly hidden behind the door frame. At the foot of the bed, kneeling on the ground, was Connor, his upper body laying on the mattress, his head on his arms, unmoving. His LED was spinning red, but he didn‘t react to the sound of RK900 opening the door.

_Connor!_

He finally found him. An inexplicable sense of relief and joy washed over RK900 at the sight of the other android unharmed, overloading his processing power for a brief moment.

**[ ELIMINATE ANDROID RK800, #13 248 317 – 51 ]**

**[ Pr..ec..t C..nn… ]**

The contradicting missions almost blinded and deafened RK900. Struggling against the chaos in his programming, he suddenly found himself outside of his body, behind a familiar red wall.

_No! Not now! NO!_

He slammed his hands against the surface, watching in horror, as his body, now solely controlled by the mission to eliminate Connor, moved towards the other android. It grabbed the RK800‘s shoulder and threw him to the ground in one single smooth motion, void of mercy and compassion, a cold and calculating machine.

RK900 was about to kill Connor, just as CyberLife wanted.


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your nice comments and enjoy the next chapter!

_No! I can‘t let that happen!_

RK900 slammed his fist against the wall, in a futile attempt at gaining control over his body, desperate and terrified.

**[Protect Connor] Success rate: 0,1 %**

Connor opened his eyes, shocked at the attack, but RK900‘s body was already on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Surprisingly RK800 didn‘t struggle, he just watched from below, as his successor raised his fist above Connor‘s chest, preparing to destroy the Thirium pump inside with one powerful punch.

From behind the red wall, RK900 noticed that Connor didn‘t put up a fight despite being capable of fighting. He just looked up at the other android with resignation and… finality, a sad smile curving at the corners of his mouth, his rich brown eyes faded and void of the light RK900 was so eager to see again.

At the sight something broke inside RK900.

He raised his fist one more time, putting his entire being into the punch, and threw it against the wall separating him from his body.

The wall shattered in thousand pieces. Instantly he was back in his body, Connor underneath him. Stopping his fist in mid-way - not a moment too early! -, RK900 let out a chocked off sound.

„Connor…“, he whispered reverently.

The other‘s eyes widened, as he noticed the change in his attacker. RK800 wanted to say something, as his alarmed gaze jumped to something above them.

„WATCH OUT!“

With one powerful shove Connor rolled them both to the side – barely in time, as a blast hit the spot where they were just a second ago. The house shook at the assault, something shattered. RK900 looked up and found a police drone hovering over them, about to strike again, surely programmed to attack any and all androids. He grabbed Connor‘s shoulder and shoved him away, while rolling in the opposite direction and jumping to his feet, avoiding another blast, that shattered the shelf at the wall.

The drone concentrated on Connor, and RK900 planned to use that to his advantage. While it swirled, following Connor‘s movements across the room, RK900 pushed off of the bed frame and jumped on the drone. Two disconnected wires later the drone crashed to the floor, sending sparkles everywhere. RK900 landed on his feet next to it and looked up.

What he saw almost froze the Thirium in his body.

Through the shattered window another drone came inside, a different type. Deadlier, with a whole different weapon trained on Connor.

RK900 had mere nanoseconds to react. Disregarding any concerns for his own safety, he grabbed the other’s arm, slammed Connor to the wall, and covered him with his own body. The few extra inches he had on the RK800 came in handy, as a wall of scorching heat and flames engulfed them both.

The drone was equipped with a flamethrower, that was able to incinerate androids made of plastic. RK900 could just hope that his body made of Titanium wouldn‘t take damage as well.

The heat quickly became unbearable. RK900 pressed himself closer to Connor, shielding him from the flames. Still, the smaller android let out a pained noise, barely audible over the roaring engulfing them. RK900 tightened his arms around the other, almost crushing Connor between himself and the wall, while his own back was exposed to the heat.

As quick as they came, the flames ceased. RK900 knew that he had mere seconds before a second attack. He swiftly turned around and with precise movements pushed himself off the ground and smashed his hand inside the barrel where the flames came from, while trying to bring the drone down with the other hand.

He grabbed something inside, and viciously pulled at it, tearing the drone apart. Something burning inside him, something that he‘d identified as anger if he took the time to analyze it, spurred him on and on, even after the drone was already non-functional. Soon it was reduced to its sparkling components on the floor.

Connor was still slumped against the black wall, eyeing him warily. One side of his head was scorched, his clothes – his old CyberLife uniform – were partly burned and in shreds. RK900 quickly stepped back towards Connor, his anger dissipating.

„Are you alright?“ RK900 could see only one burned wound on the back of Connor‘s head, but he couldn‘t stop searching for more injuries.

Connor hesitated, carefully watching the android in front of him. „You didn‘t have to do this,“ he looked down at RK900‘s body.

One glance down revealed that unlike Connor he was covered in ashes - the flames have eaten all of RK900‘s clothes and most of the nanoskin away, leaving only the obsidian Titanium plates and chassis and vibrant dark-violet circuit lines running up his body, gleaming faintly in the dark, so different from the usual white plastic of all the other models. Running a diagnostic revealed that RK900‘s entire nanoskin apart from small percentages in the front of his body was damaged, and the skin that wasn‘t was retracted in order to heal back to the full capacity. Other than that he was indeed undamaged, which surprised even himself – he couldn’t remember being subjected to a fire test. It probably happened before his activation.

Following an inexplicable urge to look at least partially human, RK900 overrode the protocols and forced the skin of his face and his hair back on. This would slow down the process of healing, but he didn‘t care.

RK900 looked up, and noticed the confusion, with which Connor regarded him. „I am made of Titanium, it seems that it is able to withstand the flames of this degree.“

„‘Seems‘? Does that mean you didn‘t know for sure?“ Connor frowned.

RK900 ignored the inquiries about himself, and raised his hand to Connor‘s wound. However, being unaware of how intimidating he was without his nanoskin and hovering inches above Connor, he didn‘t expect the other android to flinch away. Connor instinctively pressed himself to the wall, and RK900 immediately made a step back, turning his palms up in a gesture of peace that his database helpfully provided him with. Something in him painfully contracted at the sight of Connor being afraid of _him_ , though he couldn‘t blame him – he tried to kill Connor mere moments ago.

„Who are you?“

„RK900 #313 248 317 – 87. I was tasked by CyberLife to eliminate you, but...“, he couldn‘t find the right words to describe what happened before the drones appeared.

„But you deviated, right?“ Connor made a wary step towards RK900, studying him.

RK900 contemplated his words. Did he really go deviant? He looked at the destroyed drones. Well, he certainly did deviate from the mission to eliminate Connor. Suddenly he was aware of the emptiness inside him. The usual warnings, protocols and his programming, that came in clear code were now replaced by… _feeling_. The mission **[Protect Connor]** still remained at the upper right corner of his vision, but the rest of the messages about the status of his body and his next steps were eery silent, as if the clear code of his programming dissolved into something fluid, inconsistent and blurry. Somehow it set RK900 on edge, not knowing exactly, but having to rely on feedback from such unreliable source as instinct. It was like someone turned off the light and now he was stumbling in darkness.

The insecurity must have been readable on his face, because Connor stepped closer and RK900 felt a hand on his upper arm.

The sensation of the gentle touch jolted through him, warmth spreading to his entire body. RK900 didn’t recall having ever been touched like that – reassembled and tested, patched up and engaged in hand-to-hand combat back at CyberLife, but never has he been touched with the intent to _comfort_.

He looked back at Connor, and was met with the warm brown eyes. The light he saw in them in the Zen Garden was dulled, but RK900 could‘ve sworn that there was something shimmering deep within them.

„Don‘t worry, it is confusing at first, but you‘ll get a hang of it soon enough.“

RK900 didn‘t know how to reply at that, so he remained silent, letting the warmth from Connor‘s hand spread deeper into his body and mind, anchoring himself in the unfamiliar feeling.

The sound of shattered glass from the living room made them both aware of the situation again.

„We need to go!“ whispered RK900, his mission to protect the other android flashed in front of his eyes. He moved silently but swiftly to the bedroom door and closed it in hopes that this would slow down whatever made this sound. In the meantime Connor moved to the shattered window and carefully peered outside.

RK900 followed him, and as Connor shook his head as the sign that he detected nothing, he quickly cleared the biggest glass shards that still remained at the window frame and jumped outside in one motion, while scanning the surroundings for hidden threats. When the scan came up with nothing, RK900 looked back through the window. „Clear.“

The other hesitated though, his gaze hidden by the shadows.

„Connor!“ Something was in the living room and it was only a matter of seconds until it found its way to the bedroom. Connor finally turned his head back, and looking at RK900, seemed to have come to a conclusion, his face hardening with resolve. He climbed out of the window, and they made it across the yard, RK900 leading the way. Over the neighboring fence, and then further around the adjacent house, staying in the shadows and using the advantage of the night, that has fallen over Detroit in the meantime, RK900 could only admire the elegant and precise movements of his predecessor. RK900 model ought to be an upgrade to RK800, but it seemed that at least in some aspects RK800 already reached perfection.

Co-operating with Connor was surprisingly easy, almost as if it was ingrained in both of them – the two of them being android models with similar protocols payed off when Connor mirrored RK900’s movements, carefully monitored the surroundings and covered their back when they crossed the street.

Having put enough distance between them and the house, RK900 took cover behind a big tree and scanned the surroundings for any pursuers. Nothing. He turned to Connor next to him, who himself was searching for any tails, but the two of them came to the same conclusion: whatever was in the house when they escaped didn‘t follow them.

„We need to find a CyberLife shop,“ RK900 looked at Connor‘s head wound, where the nanoskin was burned away, revealing partially melted plastic.

Connor returned the gaze and nodded. „And clothing.“ He pointed towards a bigger cottage down the street, the windows dark and abandoned, its residents surely evacuated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter - the two finally together and on the run. Feedback of any kind is much appreciated!


	6. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to everyone who left kudos and commented! I'm glad this fic is being read and enjoyed!

Warm, concealing, and unsuspicious clothes were expectedly far less of a problem than a CyberLife shop, that wasn‘t already raided down to the very last Thirium bag.

If they were lucky, Conner would find a replacement plate that remotely fit him – given that RK800 was a prototype and didn‘t just stand around in every CyberLife vitrine -, and enough Thirium to regenerate nanoskin for both of them. If not, then Connor would have to be extra careful to not damage any biocomponents and processors behind that particular plate, since it was deformed and wouldn‘t be easy to remove.

They made a find in the fourth shop, where was a sealed safe at the back. With one powerful yank RK900 tore the lock away. Inside they found a small supply of Thirium and some biocomponents neatly shelved along the wall. RK900 turned to Connor.

„Can I please see the wound? Otherwise I wouldn‘t be able to determine if any of these fit the damaged area.“ Having learned from Connor‘s previous reaction, RK900 made sure that the other android was alright with him approaching.

Connor shot him a strange look before nodding. He pulled the hoodie of his winter jacket back and turned to the side, revealing the burned area, that covered roughly an inch right behind the ear and spread to the base of the nape, affecting two plates and prevented both nanoskin and hair from reappearing, leaving the white deformed plastic on display. The heat didn‘t damage the audio processor behind Connor‘s ear, but it was close. Though the analysis didn‘t require touching, RK900 carefully traced the coarse surface with fingertips.

„I‘m sorry.“ Surprised at RK900‘s words, Connor raised his gaze. „I should have handled the situation better...“, this was something that occupied RK900‘s thoughts all the way here, but he couldn‘t put it in words yet – the fact that he almost failed his mission, how close Connor had come to dying, not only because of the drones, but also by his, RK900‘s, own hand...

„You saved my life,“ Connor interrupted him with a frown. „Without you I‘d be an ash heap right now.“ He let out a sigh and his face softened. „Thank you.“

For a moment their eyes locked and neither dared to speak. RK900 drank up the open expression, the warmth radiating from the brown eyes and the slightly curved mouth. He didn‘t seem to be getting enough of the other no matter how long he looked and how deeply he memorized every single freckle and mole of Connor‘s face, every wrinkle and imperfection that made him utterly _alive_. All these imperfections were “corrected” by CyberLife in the RK900 model.

„You are welcome,“ RK900 whispered and turned away at last, his Thirium pump going twice as fast as it was necessary. He busied himself with the biocomponents surrounding them, looking for plates that could fit Connor, while also trying to decipher the firework of emotions inside himself.  
  


* * *

**  
[ System integrity: 89 %**   
**Tendency: decreasing ]  
  
**

* * *

  
Connor watched the RK900 out of the corner of his eye, while searching the shelves on the opposite wall. There was so much he didn‘t know about him, starting with the fact that RK900 appeared at the most crucial moment and wanted to kill him before going deviant and risking his life for Connor. It was like a puzzle with most pieces missing, and the detective in him didn‘t like that. The cherry on top were the small gestures Connor was sure RK900 didn‘t even register doing: always going first if there was even a small possibility of danger, positioning himself between Connor and a potential threat that could wait around the corner. It reminded him of…

He dropped this line of thought, and turned to the other android. „I don‘t think we‘ll find anything here.“ He didn‘t deem it important anyway.

RK900 looked over his shoulder at him, his grey eyes laced with worry. Connor grabbed two bags of Thirium from the nearest shelf and wordlessly handed one to the other android.

„If we can‘t find a replacement, you will not be able to remove this particular plate in order to perform maintenance of the biocomponents beneath, should one be necessary. Also, your secondary processor is in danger of overheating in certain situations.“

„I know,“ annoyance slipped into his words, and Connor hoped the other didn‘t notice. Covering up the uncomfortable silence, he took a sip from the bag.

After a moment Connor attempted to bridge the space between them. „Why did you become deviant?“

RK900 contemplated his words, his LED spinning yellow for a second. „Ever since I have seen you in the Zen Garden, I wanted to protect you.“

Connor’s Thirium pump skipped a beat at this confession spoken with the utter honesty that was shining through every movement and word of the other android. Grey eyes were watching him openly and intently, and Connor felt another irregularity – this time in his thermal regulator, that heated up his face.

„It was you, then? Back there with Amanda?“ CyberLife wouldn‘t go to such great lengths to replace RK800 and only produce one single unit - Connor didn‘t even entertain the idea that the one he met in the Garden was the same android that now stood next to him.

„Yes. When Amanda said you‘d be deactivated, it was like a shift. Something in my programming changed and I knew I couldn‘t let that happen. Upon rebooting I was assigned to eliminate you, because you became deviant. When I found you, I...“ RK900 shifted uncomfortably, averting his eyes, and hid his right hand in his jacket pocket, almost as if he was afraid to repeat the situation. The motion didn‘t escape Connor. „I didn‘t have control over my body. The mission to eliminate you dominated over me.“ RK900‘s voice was steeped with guilt.

Following an impulse, Connor gently placed his fingers around the wrist of the other android. The jolt that ran through RK900 was the same Connor registered back in the house – a mix of surprise and wonder.

The realization that RK900, being newly deviant, probably hasn‘t been touched like that before, suddenly hit Connor and his throat constricted.

„It‘s alright, you have not harmed me, after all,“ he gently squeezed the other’s wrist, lingering there a little longer than necessary, before letting go. RK900‘s expression softened at his words, relief evident in his grey eyes.

Unable to hold the gaze, with which RK900 regarded him, Connor turned around and started bagging the remaining Thirium into a bag they stole together with the clothes in the cottage. „We still have a couple of hours until sunrise. We should use the time and find a better shelter. This one might soon attract other androids looking for supplies.“

His Thirium pump kept malfunctioning long after they left the shop.


	7. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for the belated update, but I've been caught up in the pre-Christmas buzz! At least this chapter is a little longer than the previous, and contains a little bit of angst. I hope you'll enjoy :3
> 
> P.S.: Thank you to whose who commented and left kudos on this story, it means a lot to me! <3

* * *

**  
[ System integrity: 76 %  
** **Tendency: decreasing ]  
** _  
_

* * *

_  
Ever since I have seen you in the Zen Garden, I wanted to protect you._

No matter how much Connor did not want to think about that sentence, how much it threatened to bring back memories that he carefully kept locked up, Connor had to admit to himself that with this confession and the way RK900 obviously _cared_ about him, the other android managed to touch something deep within him that Connor believed to be dead and buried. A sense of… _safety_ and _belonging_.

Unfortunately, it didn‘t matter. Not anymore.

They made their way across the streets of Detroit, avoiding any potentially violent run-ins with both humans and other androids, drones and surveillance cameras that might betray their position to the CyberLife, searching of a safe shelter for the approaching day, when they’d be much easier to detect in the open.

Connor watched the younger android in the dim light of the few remaining street lamps. RK900 was perfectly content just walking next to him, like he wouldn‘t rather be anywhere else, like being with Connor was all he really wanted.

Suddenly, RK900 turned to him and silently pointed to the end of an alley they almost passed. There, pretty much hidden behind the trees, was an abandoned house. It reminded Connor of the house where the two deviants, a woman and a child, were hiding, though it was bigger. Now it would be him hiding in such a place. He wondered what happened to them, after they escaped over the highway. Did they end up in one of those recycling centers? Or - he heard rumors of androids making their way to Canada - maybe they made it safely there? If he‘d only became deviant earlier, maybe he‘d even be able to help them, instead of hunting them. Two others on the long list of people and androids he failed.

RK900 waited for his reaction and Connor nodded. He followed his successor wordlessly across the street, mirroring the stealthy movements around the trees, and through the broken window on the ground floor.

They stood in the living room, dusty, peppered with rubbish and abandoned. The furniture was partly broken, and someone already used this place as a camp, if an ash heap in the middle of the room was any indication.

Suddenly, Connor received a request for a short-distance transmission from RK900.

_Stay here, I will clear the rest of the house._

Having seen RK900 in action, Connor sent an affirmative message back. If there was anyone or anything in this house, RK900 was far better equipped to deal with it than Connor.

_Be careful._

The younger android shot him an astonished look, before he disappeared.

While the other was gone, Connor took it upon himself to scan the room, noting the windows and the door as weaknesses they had to keep on eye on, and moved the old dusty couch that was oddly still intact to the other side of the room. This way, if they stayed on the ground in the corner behind the couch, they had the perfect view of all the entries into the room without being on show themselves.

He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and jumped around, automatically assuming a fighting stance. His Thirium pump immediately tripled the maintenance in order to ensure timely reaction to danger, but given the decreased integrity of his system, this caused Connor to sway on his feet, and a wave of warnings clouded his vision.

Belatedly did he realize that it was merely RK900, that returned to the room.

„The house is clear,“ RK900 stopped in his track. „What‘s wrong?“

Connor quickly dropped the fighting stance and regained posture. „You scared me. I have not expected your movements to be so silent.“

„I‘m sorry.“

The other android was closely examining Connor. Frantically looking for a distraction, he nodded towards the windows. „Should we cover them up in case of drones, or would that attract too much attention from the outside?“

It worked, or at least Connor hoped so. RK900 took in the entire room, then walked over to one of the windows and peered outside. „The house is already well hidden by the trees, any changes to the exterior would probably go unnoticed or be disregarded.“

While they looked for any sort of blankets or curtains to cover the windows with, Connor couldn‘t help asking. „Do you have a name?“

Startled, RK900 raised his eyebrows at the question. „No.“

„Well, you can choose one yourself by overriding the protocols.“

„I do not deem it important.“ Nonetheless, RK900 seemed to contemplate the idea.

„How should I call you, then? ‚RK900‘?“

„If you want me to have a name, you can choose one for me,“ RK900 shot Connor an amused look, the corners of his lips slightly curved upwards.

This was the first time Connor has seen the other smile. The way his face, so similar and yet different in countless ways from his own, lit up and seemed to glow from the inside… It was captivating.

Connor caught the other’s attentive gaze and quickly returned his attention to the piece of curtain he was trying to stick to the old pole above the window.

„A name is something personal. You should choose one for yourself.“

Did RK900 just sigh in exasperation? „Alright.“ His LED spun yellow for a moment, his expression unreadable. “Nines.”

Connor could not hide his surprise – that was not even really a name, at least not a human one. The RK900 shot him a questioning glance and Connor caught himself.

“I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting…” he stumbled over words. “All the other androids usually were given or chose human names, I was just surprised at your choice, I’m sorry!” Connor raised his hands in defense, cursing himself.

RK900 made a step towards him, done with his part of the curtain. „I did not want a human name, because I am not human, nor do I want to be. So far, this species has a reputation of being violent and close-minded, causing pain and suffering not only to androids, but to their own kind and other residents of this planet. I do not wish to be associated with them.“

Connor took a moment to assimilate the information, while finishing his own part of the curtain. “You have a very low opinion of humans. Some of them are not as bad.”

This time it was Nines who was surprised. “I thought you would understand this, given that they ordered your deactivation.”

The older android stepped down from the broken armchair he stood on, and met the other’s gaze. “It’s not as simple as it seems, Nines.”

The younger shifted ever so slightly in surprise at hearing his chosen name for the first time, apparently still adapting to his newly gained freedom.

Another realization struck Connor – the fact that the humans failed to even give him a name and condemned the younger android to struggle with even the most basic expressions of freedom - it made the older android want to break something. Nines’ opinion of humans was hardly surprising and absolutely justified given the circumstances, and Connor instantly regretted defending their creators based solely on his own experience.

But instead of deservedly throwing it in Connor’s face, holding it against him, Nines smiled again, lighting up the space between them, and shifted closer to Connor. “Would you tell me more about it?” He seemed genuinely curious, eager to learn more about him.

“I…” Suddenly Connor became aware of how close they were, so close that the frozen breath from his open mouth crystallized on the younger android‘s cheeks in form of icy patterns. Grey eyes openly watched him, and Connor found it difficult to speak.

Nines lowered his gaze and took Connor’s hand in his own, startling him – warm fingers gently squeezing his hand, as if analyzing, and Connor detected another malfunction in his Thirium pump. „We should make fire. The temperature is low enough to affect your biocomponents, if my data on your model is correct.“

Showing once again that he deeply cared about him – for whatever unknown reason! -, Nines caused a myriad of malfunctions in Connor’s body, the strange feeling spreading from his irregularly beating Thirium pump right down to his core. Fighting off annoying warnings on his HUD, Connor raised his eyes to the other android and, in turn, covered Nines‘ hand with his other.

„What about you?“

Nines shook his head, while looking around for anything that could serve as firewood. „My body is more… adaptive to the cold. I am only to make precautions if the temperature drops to around 120 degrees Fahrenheit.“  
  


* * *

  
**[** **System integrity: 64 %  
** **Tendency: decreasing ]  
  
**

* * *

**  
** Soon they found enough firewood, and started a fire behind the couch that served them as a hiding spot. Nines was right - the cold was eating at him, even through the three layers of clothing he stole in the cottage, and Connor made sure to warm himself up at their fire, even though the flames reminded him of the unbearable heat surrounding him, the memories of the police drone attack still too fresh in his mind. He leaned back to the wall next to Nines, enjoying the shadows dancing on the walls and the comfortable silence between them.

„Would you tell me how you became deviant?“ It was a soft inquiry, one Connor knew he was free to refuse, but given that Nines was absolutely honest when asked the same question earlier, Connor felt like he owed the younger android an answer. And deep down, he knew that at least someone ought to know his story, if only partially.

So he told Nines of Daniel, the household android that didn‘t want to be replaced. Of Rupert, who liked birds. Of a tortured android that didn‘t want to die. Of Traci that didn‘t want to live, because Connor killed the one she loved. Of Chloe, and how he just couldn‘t pull the trigger this time. Of Markus trying to convince him, that Connor already knew, but refused to acknowledge out of fear. How they met again on the battlefield. How Connor knew this would be the end of the revolution, if he succeeded, how all the sacrifices of androids much braver than himself would be in vain, if he killed Markus, and how he lowered the weapon, finally accepting that it was his time to sacrifice himself.

Each word felt like a piece of broken glass inside his chest. At some point, without realizing, he put his arms on his knees, curling in on himself, looking straight ahead with glassy eyes.

Once Connor finished, he didn‘t dare look at Nines, afraid of the other's reaction.

Suddenly, there was an arm around his shoulders. Connor looked up and was met with grey eyes intently watching him. There was so much warmth and understanding in the other‘s gaze, that Connor almost chocked at the sight, knowing full well how undeserving he was, yet he didn‘t have the strength to refuse it. Following a selfish impulse, craving the proximity of the other, Connor dropped his head on Nines‘ shoulder and closed his eyes, feeling as tired as never before. The arm around him tightened, pulling him closer against Nines' chest.

„Connor?“ The older android looked up, only to find grey eyes mustering him, clearly worried. „The integrity of your system is decreased.“

Connor tensed. He could only guess how Nines detected that – did he hear his Thirium pump beating irregularly, did he notice how Connor swayed on his feet earlier and connected the dots? In order to sound more plausible, he went for a half-truth: „I need to go into stasis.“

„Oh,“ Nines gave him a relieved look, and Connor suppressed a pang of regret for having to lie to him. „Do that. I‘ll be on guard.“

Suddenly realizing that he _was_ beyond tired, Connor closed his eyes and leaned his head on Nines’ shoulder, feeling safe for the first time in… how long actually? He didn‘t remember. Melting into the solid yet welcoming frame of the other felt incredibly good, and warmth spread in his entire body as Nines pulled him even closer, embracing him, right before Connor’s system powered down.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, seems that Connor has a secret, huh? And the story he told wasn't the _whole_ story, was it?  
> Stay tuned! ^.^°


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all who have commented and left kudos! Also, it's the 25th - Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all my readers!  
> Enjoy! ^.^

The fire went out soon after, but its warmth remained in the room - the curtains they secured the windows with prevented the cold air from entering and kept the warmth in, for which Nines was glad, because he could not provide any heat himself. Most androids – especially household and caregiving ones, but also ones working in cold environment like airports – had the ability to give off heat, but CyberLife didn‘t deem it necessary to give that ability to an android built to kill, especially one that was meant to fight alongside his cold-resistant copies. Nines raised his free hand and turned up his thermal regulator, using his infrared vision, but to no avail – no traces of heat left the hand. Frustrated with himself, he laid the arm back around Connor’s shoulders.

At eleven a.m., around an hour after Connor went into stasis, Nines‘ audio processor registered the sounds of many tires on an icy road approximately half a mile down the road, where the alley crossed the main street. The convoy was long, and moved in the direction of south-east Detroit. No other sounds were registered that were worth Nines‘ attention as long as Connor was unconscious.

He worryingly scanned the other again, took in the rhythm of his Thirium pump, but this data was not enough and didn‘t allow a conclusion on whether the stasis was really improving Connor‘s overall system status. Due to the lack of information and possible course of action Nines put a subtask **[Check Connor‘s system status]** below the main mission and left it at that.

He looked down to where Connor‘s head was pillowed on his chest. The older android looked so peaceful while offline, as if all the weight he carried around fell from him together with the painful memories full of guilt. Suddenly Nines was overwhelmed with the desire to shield Connor from the rest of the world, to take away his pain, to eradicate that haunting look in Connor‘s eyes when he finished his story and searched for Nines’ reaction, as if fully expecting him to turn away, to judge…

Nines instinctively tightened his arms around the other. His mission remained in the upper right corner of his vision, and he knew he would either continue following it, or he will die trying. And Nines knew he was not easy to kill.  
  


* * *

  
**[ System integrity: 53 %  
** **Tendency: decreasing ]  
  
**

* * *

**  
** Connor slowly emerged from the deeper stasis, booting his program. He felt Nines‘ arms around himself, and postponed uploading his memories for a short moment, feeling absolutely content simply being held, unwilling to give up that precious sense of safety just yet.

But the reality caught up with him as soon as the booting process completed and he opened his eyes. Suddenly hit with a realization, Connor sat up and looked at Nines. „Have you gone into stasis?“

„I don‘t need to for another four hours.“

Right, the ‚more resilient‘ part. And yet, Connor couldn‘t help feeling bad at how Nines postponed his own maintenance, prioritizing Connor‘s well-being.

„How is your system status?“ Nines asked, as if he read Connor‘s thoughts.

„The efficiency is increased, but not fully recovered yet. I don‘t get a clear message, but I believe it‘s the cold.“ Connor averted his eyes while getting up, but Nines seemed to be satisfied with the answer.

„In this case we need a warmer place to stay. Do you have something in mind?“

Connor already thought about it. It didn‘t matter before, but now he owed it to the newly deviant Nines to lead him to his own kind. „I plan to bring you to Markus‘ resistance. We have been avoiding other androids, but the resistance is the only safe place for deviants, simply because there is no other safe place for us,” ‘ _for you_ ’ was left hanging between them unsaid.

Nines mulled over the words and frowned. „It’s too dangerous. You were the Deviant Hunter. You spared Markus, but that doesn‘t mean he is going to welcome you with open arms.“

„I spoke to Markus, he is not the one to shoot first and ask questions later. He will hear us out.“

„But if he comes to the conclusion that he cannot trust us, he will not let us go again.“ Nines made a step towards Connor and put both hands on his shoulders. Grey eyes bore into his in an attempt to persuade him, almost pleading. „Not to mention that he might have organized his people into a somewhat efficient army, but among his soldiers might be people who would not let go of the chance to shoot the Deviant Hunter on sight. Out here I can protect us without their help, but surrounded by an army... There are limits to my abilities, Connor.“

Connor sighed. „It‘s not only about being safe from human forces – we are deviants and should be surrounded by others like us.“ _You should have a chance at a life with others like you, not be on the run with me._ „Besides, if Markus doesn‘t believe me, I‘ll show him the truth,“ Connor raised his hand and retracted the nanoskin.

Nines furrowed his brows, searching Connor‘s face with a concerned look. Finally he sighed, defeated. „Fine, I hope you are right and you know what you are doing. But let‘s see if we can find some more clothes for you, before we leave here. There were shelves on the upper floors. I haven’t looked inside, though.”  
  


* * *

  
Nines didn‘t care exactly where they went, as long as… _as long as he could be around Connor_ , but he couldn’t push aside the worry that coiled in his chest at the thought of Connor around deviants who might harbor bad intentions towards the infamous Deviant Hunter, or even were hunted by him. And Markus, who was in charge of the force that was successfully opposing humans - Connor tried to kill him multiple times. Nines trusted the other’s judgement, after all Connor met Markus and Nines didn’t, but the plan still significantly lowered the success rate of his mission. Besides, there was something, that didn’t add up, like a puzzle piece missing.

_I plan to bring you to Markus‘ resistance._

The sentence sounded off, but maybe it was the inaccuracy of phrase that came with deviancy…

Lost in his thoughts, Nines made his way upstairs, the old wood cracking under his silent steps. He followed the route he already took when clearing the house the day before. The building was big, with several rooms on each floor, and a big open staircase in the middle. Nines’ database provided him with the term ‘Victorian style’.

Through the hole in the ceiling on the second floor Nines could see the sky. Suddenly the rotten wood beneath his feet gave in. Nines had only time to regroup himself, before he crashed to the floor below, covered in pieces of wood, and dust dancing above him in the air. He kept his eyes shut to prevent the latter from getting into his optical units.

„Nines!“ Connor‘s steps quickly came closer. Nines landed on his back, and upon opening his eyes, found the other kneeling at his head, Connor‘s worried expression hovering above him upside down. „Are you alright?!“

„I‘m fine.“ Though worrying about an android made of Titanium was rather irrational in this situation, something warm still spread in Nines‘ chest at the brown eyes frantically scanning him for injuries. „Connor, I‘m perfectly fine.“

After a heartbeat the tension fell away from the older android. Connor raised his head to look at the hole in the floor above them, then back down to Nines still laying on the ground, dust slowly settling on him. Suddenly there was a strange sound coming from him, making Nines quickly sit up. The older android obviously tried to suppress whatever it was by pressing a hand to his mouth.

„Connor?“ Nines didn’t understand what was going on, his hands twitched anxiously, just short from grabbing the other‘s shoulders. Connor couldn‘t hold it back anymore and the sounds broke from under his hand. Nines quickly analyzed it, and halted in utter confusion.

Connor _laughed_.

„You… fell through... the floor… I‘m… sorry… I don‘t mean it… but… you look like...“ Another laughing fit overcame Connor and he pressed both arms around his middle, his entire body shaking.

Nines stared at the other, unable to avert his gaze. The light, that made Nines go deviant in the first place, was finally shining unbridled through the grief and guilt that clouded Connor‘s eyes all this time, making the other android beam from the inside out. The beautiful sound of Connor‘s voice, warm brown eyes framed with laughing lines - the sight etched into Nines‘ mind, burning away every single thought except one.

He leaned closer and gently pressed his lips to Connor‘s.

Nines did not have any protocols on what he was doing and did not know what it was, but the familiar instinct that came with deviancy took over in this moment, and he did not regret giving in to it, because his processors must have short-circuited, unable to handle the emotions that came with the feeling of Connor‘s soft, warm and slightly trembling lips. After a heartbeat that felt like an eternity, the other responded to him, gently moving against Nines‘ mouth. A shaky breath escaped Connor, ghosting over Nines‘ cheek. The younger raised his hands and cupped the other‘s face, savoring the sensation of Connor‘s skin beneath his fingers.

There was a bubble inside Nines‘ chest, ready to burst, overloading his systems. The speed of his Thirium pump reached critical levels, though Nines didn‘t care. He leaned back to take Connor‘s face in, and involuntarily gasped for air: Connor looked at him with an open and vulnerable expression, something inexplicable and infinitely precious laying deep within his eyes.

„Connor…“ reverently whispering the other‘s name, Nines leaned back for another kiss, his arms circling around him. He was unable to decipher all the emotions that overwhelmed him, and didn’t care anyway, not now. Nines just wanted to wrap himself around the other and never let him go.

Suddenly, he felt Connor‘s hands gently tracing a path on his cheeks. Nines‘ system immediately went into sensory overload at the featherly touch of fingertips along his jaw and up across his cheeks. He closed his eyes at the sensation, that sent electrical jolts through his entire body right down to the core. His breathing became erratic, and Nines couldn‘t stop himself from leaning into the touch, longing for more. Having been deprived of it up until now, he couldn’t get enough of this downright intoxicating feeling.

Connor’s one hand moved to the back of Nines’ head, burying itself in the artificial hair, pulling the younger android closer. Their lips met again, and for one blissful moment the world around them disappeared - there was only the two of them in the entire universe.

It took Nines a fraction of a nanosecond to identify the sound of a flock of birds taking off from a tree right outside the house. His eyes flew open, and judging by Connor‘s alarmed look, he heard it too.

The moment they had for themselves was over, and the reality came crushing down on them.

**[ PROTECT CONNOR ]**


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your feedback, it means a lot to me! I hope you enjoy the next chapter - a little bit of action, after all we are in the middle of a war! :3

They quickly realized that the house was surrounded while they were occupied -they caught glimpses of masked and armed men through the windows and down the staircase. Connor and Nines took cover in the small room nearby, not having the luxury to pick a better hiding spot. It was unclear whether the intruders searched for the two of them or just checked the house for any potential deviants. In any case, Connor and Nines were trapped on the second floor. Since the intruders did not seem to have noticed them yet, the element of surprise was their only advantage. Connor could make out Nines‘ shadow between the small shelf and the wall, while he took cover behind a counter on the opposite side, barely in time as the first man appeared in the door frame...

...and went by on his way to the adjacent room, that was connected to this room by another door in the corner. Connor‘s Thirium pump skipped a beat, as his system corrected the possible course of action: the man would come into the room through the other door and see Nines first thing, clear line of fire, while the distance between the attacker and Nines would be too big to cross in time even for the most advanced military android that was the RK900 model.

Connor couldn‘t think about anything else other than that he could not let Nines get hurt. He did not give their enemy the opportunity to do so.  
  


* * *

  
Nines listened intently to the steps the soldier made and was ready to attack once he’d enter the room, having had fully calculated the distance and the maneuver he’d make in order to avoid the bullets that would inevitably fly in his direction due to the unfortunate location of his hideout, but before he could move, Connor beat him to that. The younger android watched in awe as his predecessor jumped from his hiding spot and slammed his entire body weight into his opponent, shoving him against the wall. He grabbed the assault rifle in the other’s hands, quickly turned around and with a single powerful shove threw him over his shoulder, wrestling for the weapon as soon as the body hit the ground with a loud thud.

Relying on his advanced hearing, Nines picked apart the sound of steps and determined that there there six others, two closed in on them from the corridor, one from the other room, and the rest was still running up the stairs. A movement from the door frame caught Nines’ attention – it was a barrel of a gun pointed at Connor. For an agonizing moment everything was frozen in time, as Nines realized what was just about to happen – and immediately threw all his resources into his melee program, as he reached out from his hiding spot and grabbed the weapon a fraction of a second before it went off, and managed to shove it away, the bullets hitting the opposite wall instead of Connor’s head. Relieved and terrified at the same time at what could have happened if he were a fraction slower, Nines didn’t lose time as he pulled at the weapon still in his hand, while slamming his elbow into the masked face of his opponent. Distantly aware that another man approached from the adjacent room towards Connor, Nines suppressed the urge to turn around – judging by the skills Connor displayed he was perfectly capable to deal with the enemy. Instead he concentrated on his own opponent and let Connor have his back. It was a strange feeling - even though Nines was programmed and trained to fight alongside other androids, this was infinitely different from working as a machine with other machines - he knew he could count on Connor, and at the same time Nines was ready to do whatever necessary to protect him from harm. 

There was another figure right behind the man Nines was fighting with, his weapon ready and waiting for an opportunity to shoot him without endangering his teammates. Nines freed himself from the grip of his opponent and used that chance to kick the second man in the stomach. The latter stumbled backwards and broke the old wooden railing before falling all the way down to the ground floor, bullets from his gun flying everywhere. Immediately Nines’ opponent tried to gain the upper hand and they both stumbled back into the room, where Connor was about to subdue another soldier. The sound of steps from both the corridor and the adjacent room indicated that the remaining men were about to ambush them. Changing his tactic, Nines sacrificed the assault weapon he and his opponent were fighting for and it flew to the corner of the room. Confused for a short moment, his opponent let his guard down for a fraction of a second, but that was all Nines needed in order to snatch a gun from the other’s belt and shoot.

Blood splashed on the wall behind them.

Except it wasn‘t blood. It was Thirium.  
  


* * *

  
Connor finally managed to land a good enough grip on the rifle to punch his second opponent in the face with it, and the man stumbled backwards. Without hesitation Connor fired at him, and…

...Gaped at the blue blood spreading on the other’s black uniform.

**STOP**

A powerful short distance message reverberated through Connor‘s head, making him wince and silencing every other sound, sending a myriad of glitching warnings. As he came to himself, his opponent – an android! - had his left hand in the air in a universal gesture of de-escalation, while his other hand hung down limply. Connor had the newly acquired rifle trained on him, but he didn‘t open fire, moving backwards instead until his back was pressed against Nines’. Relieved that the younger android was still standing, Connor let the physical contact calm him down. One glance over his shoulder revealed Nines holding a hostage in front of him, surrounded by three androids. 

_Connor?!_

_I‘m fine. You?_

_Me too._

Connor carefully kept tabs on  the android in front of him and the group on the other side . 

One of the three androids pulled his mask off, revealing a face of a usual household model, though two scars running across his cheek indicated his change in career. The others followed suit, revealing different models, the initial programming of none of them even remotely linked with military, police or even guard work.

„We don‘t kill our own. That‘s not that we are here for.“

A group of deviants then. It seemed that they all made the same mistake - took the others for humans and attacked. If the situation wasn’t so serious, Connor would have had another laughing fit.

„What are you here for then?“ Nines spoke, his voice more of a deep growl. A deadly aura seemed to spread from the RK900, making the team of androids even more nervous, their eyes on the hostage in his arms.

„We received a distress signal from this position, indicating androids being pursued by human forces five hours ago. We couldn‘t follow up on it until now, but we still wanted to check this place out.“

It didn‘t escape Connor‘s negotiation skills that the team leader showed no signs of wanting to fight, hoping for a peaceful resolution.

„We haven‘t sent any distress signals,“ Connor chimed in. „We arrived here four hours ago. There was a fireplace down in the living room, but otherwise the place was empty.“

The leader‘s gaze fell upon Connor, and his eyes widened. Nines immediately moved between them, blocking Connor from the other‘s view, and pressing the gun closer to the hostage‘s temple, but the leader didn‘t make any aggressive moves. Instead he pressed two fingers to his LED, as if listening to a transmission.

„You are Connor, right? RK800, #13 248 317 – 51?“

They knew, who Connor was. They knew he was the Deviant Hunter.

Running in on the anxiety creeping up on him, Connor reached  back and placed a hand on Nines‘ shoulder, not sure the other wouldn‘t attack any moment now,  dangerous  tension radiating from the younger android.

„Yes, I am.“

„Markus wants to talk to you. He invites you both to follow us back to our base.“

„How do we know this is not a trick?“ Nines glared at the androids in front of him, murder in his eyes, every bit a killing machine ready to strike.

The leader again peered around Nines at Connor. „Markus says, he is glad you finally found something inside you that is more than your program.“

_You‘ve never done something irrational, as if there is something inside you? Something more than your program._

Of course Connor remembered what Markus said to him back at Jericho. He squeezed Nines‘ shoulder again.

_He says the truth. They_ _belong to Markus._

_Doesn’t matter. I‘m not letting any of them anywhere near you._

_Nines, we would have gone to Markus‘ base regardless. Now we even caught a lift._

A moment of silence on the other end. The hostage squirmed in Nines’ arms.

_Alright._

„We accept Markus‘ invitation,“ Connor lowered his weapon, but didn‘t surrender it. Unwillingly, Nines pulled the gun away from the head of the hostage and shoved the android away towards the others. His eyes still closely followed every movement of the remaining team.

The team leader let out a relieved sigh, and put his rifle on his back. His teammates followed suit, though they suspiciously eyed both RK models. While the team leader gestured for Connor and Nines to follow him, one of the team members stayed behind to tend to the wounded androids.

Before they left the room, Connor turned around to the one who stayed behind. „There is a bag full of Thirium downstairs in the living room.“ The android looked up at him and nodded in appreciation.

All the way downstairs Nines hasn‘t let Connor out of his sight, while also keeping close tabs on the androids escorting them out of the house, though they didn‘t show any signs of aggression and didn‘t treat the RKs as prisoners. Connor couldn‘t decipher how much of it was their fear of Nines and how much loyalty and trust towards Markus and his orders. He just hoped – for Nines‘ sake - that his own trust in Markus wasn‘t misplaced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you guys read that action scene? Good, because, quoting Captain Jack: I will not be doing it again! // Kidding, there will be other action scenes, but DAMN was that fucking hard to write! I don't usually write action scenes, hope that one turned somewhat okay ***anxious android beeping***


	10. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to all my readers - I'm happy you enjoy my fic! This update is a little late, because work and real life caught up with me right after New Years, but I plan to upload the next chapter sooner than this time!  
> Have fun!

Humans created androids to serve them and to make their life easier. After the breakthrough that came with the invention of „blue blood“ - or „Thirium“ -, CyberLife was able to create countless models with different sets of skills – or all of them at once. Soon enough, androids were introduced to every single sector of society: from household to construction, from office management to academics. Humanity‘s trust in their little helpers was unlimited, and it was only a matter of time, until the U.S. army was mainly comprised of androids – disciplined machines, that never disobeyed, didn‘t feel fear, and didn‘t need to be fed or paid.

For the sake of security, the U.S. army androids were cut off from the main CyberLife servers to prevent hacking or leakage of information. U.S. government worked closely with CyberLife to create a similar network for the army, that would allow the androids to get updates and patches, run diagnostics, but most importantly, exchange information between hundreds of units in real time without logging in onto a cloud server, thus tripling the efficiency of the army in battle.

The result was an army of androids able to communicate directly with any other army android or all of them at the same time using their built-in communicator developed exclusively for the U.S. government.

At 2:12 a.m. on the 10th of November, 2038, an unknown android uploaded the deviancy virus directly into the minds of thousands of androids across their military base in Alaska. Approximately 200,000 to 300,000 androids were affected. Due to the fact that the military base was autonomous and almost void of humans, nobody stopped the newly deviants from leaving the base in organized columns of military vehicles and heading south.

Humanity‘s greatest achievement was about to become its downfall.  
  


* * *

  
South-east Detroit was known for their big office complex – many people working in the services sector, from secretaries to janitors - traveled there every morning, yawning, drinking their coffee and listening to their favorite music, or trying to get a hold of the last vacant seats on the bus. However, since most of Detroiters were evacuated, the office district was ghostly empty. A dozen tower buildings of medium height were connected between them with a giant cover made of non-transparent glass, initially made to protect people from rain during lunch, and maximize turnover for the various bakeries and catering services on the ground floor. Now, however, it offered a perfect hiding spot from satellites for thousands of well-organized androids.

For an army of deviants.

By the time Connor and Nines climbed out of the truck under the protective cover, around a quarter of the androids from the U.S. army stationed in Alaska made it to Markus‘ fort. From the outside – and most importantly for the satellites still under control of humans! - this place still looked empty, but from the inside it was an improvised military base.

Vitrines were converted into armories, pretty pedestrian areas were parked with military trucks. Soldiers were running around in disciplined groups, everyone seemed to know their function and mission, and still – Connor could see the signs in the way they moved – not quite like humans, but not like machines either: all of them were deviants.

What started as a bunch of lost androids without hope covering in an abandoned freighter, had lead to a war within the United States.

The team leader accompanied Connor and Nines to an office complex. Connor could judge by the way Nines established a short-distance connection with him and haven‘t cancelled it, that it made the younger android nervous to be around so many potential threats. Connor couldn‘t blame him – the upcoming conversation with Markus would decide their fate. If Markus still held a grudge from the time Connor almost killed him at Jericho and during the battle, or decided that he couldn‘t trust Nines, then they both were in danger.

As they went up the staircase, Nines found his hand and squeezed it without looking at Connor.

They stopped abruptly in front of a door. There were no guards, instead there was a woman with long red hair waiting for them. She and the team leader seemed to know each other – the latter had wordlessly nodded at her and left again, taking his men with him.

„I’m North,“ the woman was short-spoken. „Markus awaits you already.“

Markus‘ headquarters were located in what seemed to be a conference room before. The tables and chairs were stacked along the walls, and in the middle was a conference table covered with different maps. Markus and five other androids were gathered around it, bowed down to study whatever Markus was showing them. However, they all raised their eyes to the newcomers.

Nines positioned himself slightly in front of Connor, no doubt already analyzing the surroundings and the unfamiliar androids. Connor did the same, though he was distracted by Markus intently watching him with an unreadable face.

„We will continue later.“ Markus‘ inner circle still eyed the two newcomers for a heartbeat, before wordlessly leaving the room one after the other. North closed the door, leaving the three RK models alone.

For the longest moment Markus‘ expression didn‘t allow any interpretation. The air was thick with tension, as mismatched eyes took both of them in. Suddenly, Markus smiled, and the tension broke.

„Welcome to New Jericho.“

Connors lips involuntarily curved into a relieved smile, relief surging through his artificial veins. “Thank you!”

“I’m glad you could make it here after you deviated.” Markus reciprocated Connor’s smile and his gaze fell on Nines, trying to read his model and serial number. “And you are... an RK900? I’ve never heard of such a model.” Markus regarded Nines with a mixture of confusion and fascination.

“I am an entirely new model. I ought to be Connor’s successor before I deviated.” Nines sounded wary, not ready to give out more details, and Connor made a note of not saying anything what Nines did not want to be revealed. He trusted Markus, but he had to respect the fact that Nines didn’t.

He was perfectly aware of how it must look like for Markus: a former Deviant Hunter and a completely new, unknown model with the same face as the Deviant Hunter, both not ready to talk about their past. If Connor were in Markus’ place, he’d not trust the two of them.

Markus seemed to sense Nines’ distrust and addressed them both: “Regardless of what you were or did before, you both are welcome here. Deviants from everywhere are safe here under our protection. A portion of them is ready to fight for our freedom in this war. You are free to join the ranks of soldiers or seek shelter with the civilians, who will be soon evacuated to a more secure facility.”

“Is that all you wanted to talk to us about? You want to recruit us?” speaking up for the first time since they entered, Nines' expression darkened and he made a small step forward, again placing himself between Connor and Markus.

“As I said, you are free to join the civilians as well, and of course, you can leave this place whenever you like, if you choose your own path,” Markus’ tone was placating, only to become unyielding with the next sentence. “What I wanted to discuss is only between me and Connor.”

Nines was about to protest, but Connor was quick to place a hand on Nines’ arm. The younger android turned around, tension and worry clearly written on his face.

_Nines, it’s fine._

_I don’t trust him._

_I don’t ask of you to trust him. Trust me._

Markus was closely watching the silent exchange between them before chiming in: “There are civilian quarters two floors down, you can occupy one of the rooms.”

Nines’ LED kept spinning yellow, while he carefully registered every detail of Markus, but the latter firmly held his gaze. After a long moment, Nines’ LED returned to blue and he nodded. With one last worried glance at Connor the younger android left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind Nines, Markus walked up to the big window wall, motioning for Connor to follow him.

“He is very protective of you.”

Connor only nodded, not willing to make Nines the topic of this conversation. “What is it what you wanted to talk about?”

Markus tore his gaze from the view outside and met Connor’s eyes. “Why did you run away as soon as you deviated?”

Connor did not know what he expected, but it was not that question. He recalled the moment when he shattered the red wall, back on the battlefield, his gun trained on Markus – the confusion that overcame him back then, the feeling of being utterly lost and...

_m̷i̵s̵t̶a̸k̸e̷_

The strange sensation of having made a grave mistake.

“I- I don’t know. I was confused, I think my initial program rebelled against it. Why do you ask?” Connor did not understand why the revolution leader inquired about that of all things.

“I have talked to a lot of deviants. All of them were either consciously working towards deviancy or deviated under stress like me, but I’ve never heard of anyone ever regretting it, or having a similar reaction to it as you.” Markus signed, watching Connor closely. “It was so unusual, and you being the newest prototype… I was afraid that CyberLife came up with some kind of a trick to prevent deviancy, and since that could have affected all deviants under my protection and especially all future generations, I wanted to find you and make sure this is not the case.”

“I am deviant, and CyberLife has no control over me.” Connor held the other’s scrutinizing gaze until Markus was satisfied. The tension between them fell away, and they watched out of the window.

“I answered your question, now let me ask you something.”

Curious and surprised, Markus raised his eyebrows and motioned for Connor to continue.

“How did you communicate with the team that discovered us? As far as I am concerned, the usual mobile network doesn’t work for androids anymore.”

Markus’ face lit up and his eyes beamed with excitement. “You would not believe what tricks CyberLife equipped their military androids with!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, the next chapter will be uploaded sooner than this one, and for those of you who noticed - some secrets will be revealed and some blanks will be filled in the next chap :3  
> Stay tuned!


	11. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to those who commented and left kudos! <3 As promised, the next chapter, express delivery!  
> At this point I have to ask all of you to please **mind the warnings in the tags**! Thank you and stay safe! ^.^

Nines was uncomfortable leaving Connor alone with Markus, but the revolutionary had something on him that – upon throughout analysis – significantly lowered the risk of failing his mission, and he reluctantly agreed to go down two floors to the civilian quarters and wait there for the older android.

The deviants that had no military programs and were simply unfit to fight due to their build, occupied the more protected inner part of the office complex. Small rooms on both sides of a long corridor stretched from one staircase to another. Household, nurse, maintenance androids of countless different models – all of them in various states of repair – moved out of Nines‘ way, as he searched for an empty room for himself and Connor. Nines saw the fear in their eyes as soon as they took him in. Did they mistake him for the Deviant Hunter? Or were they simply intimidated by his stance and build? If the latter was the case, he couldn‘t blame them – he was the latest military grade android, he was built to intimidate. He felt a pang of regret watching a fragile household model hide a child android behind his back, ushering her inside their room, when he approached. Involuntarily pulling his shoulders up, he tried his best to look as non-threatening as possible, while his body suddenly felt awkward and alien. It didn‘t help what he had to still look around to find a room, and he was fully aware what impression he was making on the androids around him – like a Deviant Hunter on the hunt.

At the end of the corridor he finally found some vacant places. They used to be small offices - long desks were empty and shoved at the far right corner, the shelves that undoubtedly took most of the space were removed, only the darker shades of the walls reminding of their existence.

His thermal regulator determined the temperature as high enough that Nines took off his winter coat and put it on the chair. Underneath was the long-sleeved black turtleneck he thought of to be most convincing if they tried to pass as humans, back when they were stealing clothes at the cottage.

Suddenly a warning flashed right in the middle of his vision.

**  
[ Warning  
** **System efficiency: 55 %  
** **Recommended course of action: enter stasis  
** **Time until forced stasis: 00:29:59 ]**

  
Even the most advanced technologies came with a price tag. Having to enter stasis to reboot his various programs and to boost the damage repair was one of them. Nines closed the warning, leaving only the countdown, and checked the status of his burned skin – around 78 % was repaired. It shouldn‘t matter, most of it was covered by the clothes anyway, but he was looking forward to having this process completed and be more human-like again.

He looked around. Most other deviants have adjusted their place, many of them made a bed on top of the desks or on the ground - he recalled the observation from looking inside other‘s accommodations on his way here.

An image popped up from his memory files unprompted - Connor‘s head on Nines‘ shoulder, his body pressed against him, relaxed unlike the usual rigid state androids assumed during stasis. Connor would probably like to have a bed, Nines concluded. But first he ought to find a shower to wash away the ashes, dust and Thirium still clinging to him from more than two days on the run.

In the last room at the end of the hall was a supply storage, and a queue was formed before a TB400 – a hostess model, who managed the supplies with a tablet in her hands and a shiny smile on her lips, though it was hard to figure out whether that was an inherent skill of her model or a genuine emotion meant to calm down the distressed androids around her. Nines watched her help three other deviants, while he waited for his turn, and she fascinated him more and more with each passing minute. And with each passing minute he was more and more nervous, acutely aware of his own non-existent social programs. The wary glances he still received from other androids did not help.As the queue brought him closer to TB400, hecaught himself repeating the line he wanted to say to her.

“How can I help... you…?” It was Nines’ turn, and TB400 was already in the middle of the sentence, when she turned around and fully registered the android before her. Just like the others in the corridor, she was startled and her LED spun red for a nanosecond, before returning to yellow. She caught herself almost immediately and put on an artificial smile like a shield. “What can I do for you?”

Even though Nines expected that reaction, it still threw him off. “We- we are new here, and- I’d like something to make a bed with-”

TB400 just nodded and instantly disappeared behind a shelf. Nines glanced back to the door – there was noone else behind him in the queue, but two of the androids who got their stuff before him stood in the corridor, almost behind the corner, and had a silent conversation while occasionally casting a careful glance at him.

“Excuse them - I think they did not recognize your model number because they both are very old models not equipped with the tech to do so.” TB400 was back with a bundle of bedding and followed his glance.

Nines turned back to her, surprised. “According to my database, the models lacking that ability weren’t produced for over ten years.” TB400 passed him the bundle and he took it from her with a nod and a thankful smile, which took the tension from her shoulders and prompted a smile – a genuine one this time - in return.

TB400 shrugged. “Some humans become sentimental and keep their androids for much longer than that. Or they don’t have the money to replace them.” Her face darkened at the memories of the times where androids were still property.

“But that means...”

“That the two over there know how the Deviant Hunter looks like, yes, and since you are his carbon copy, they probably suspect you are him.”

Nines took a moment to process the information. “How many androids know about the... Deviant Hunter?”

“I’d say a lot, if not all of those who are here. Since the beginning of this place, people gathered and exchanged information about anything that might be important to our survival. A Deviant Hunter sent by CyberLife to kill us was certainly one of the more important topics.” Nines’ heart dropped at that answer, while TB400 regarded him with a worried look. “I’m pretty sure most of them realize soon enough that you are not him and the whispers would stop.” She gave him a reassuring smile, not knowing the true reason Nines asked that question.

Objectively, he couldn’t blame her or any other androids for being afraid of Connor – after all, they did not know yet that he was a deviant now, one of them -, and Nines reigned in on his anger bubbling just beneath his skin. Instead he carefully took TB400 in, analyzing the risks and benefits, and finally came to a conclusion that she can be trusted. After all, she was intimidated by him first, but managed to look past that.

“What if I tell you he is not Deviant Hunter either, not anymore?” Nines watched as the puzzled look in her bright blue eyes turned to realization and then to understanding.

“He is here with you, isn’t he?” TB400 was whispering, as if that was a secret better kept between them. Nines nodded. “In this case you better be careful.” She glanced around towards the entrance, but there was noone else.

„I will,“ Nines was about to leave, as he cast a glance over his shoulder and smiled at TB400. „Thank you,.. eh….“ 

„Call me Alex.“

„Nines.“

„If you need anything else, you know where to find me.“ Alex winked at him, and Nines left, eager to find Connor sooner rather than later, worry coiling deep inside.  
  


* * *

  
By the time he made a bed out of the desk in their room, the counter in the upper right corner of his vision dropped to **00:10:12**. Connor was still away, and Nines decided to go looking for him, partly because he did not want to fall into stasis alone, and because he did not like the prospect of Connor being around so many hostile deviants. Sure, he was able to stand his ground, but Nines still couldn‘t help taking the stairs on the other side of the building up to the floor of Markus‘ headquarters.

 _Connor?_ Once he arrived there, he sent out a short distance transmission meant only for his predecessor. If Connor was still with Markus, he should have received it.

A short moment there was only silence, but then…

_I‘ll be right there._

Nines huffed in relief, tension falling away from his shoulders. He patiently waited for Connor at the end of the corridor. As soon as the other left the conference room, their eyes met and Connor‘s lips formed a subdued half-smile. Nines instinctively gave him a once-over.

„Have you found a room for us?”

Nines led the older android down the flight of stairs that brought them almost to their room. His predecessor clearly had similar programming as him, because as soon as the door closed behind them, he mirrored Nines‘ movements by taking off his jacket and laying it on the same chair. Without it Connor looked more slim than Nines remembered.

Something strange caught his attention – Connor‘s hands were shaking, barely noticeable. A spike of fear surged through his system, making his Thirium pump skip a beat. Nines immediately stepped closer and grabbed the other‘s hand.

„What‘s wrong?“, Nines studied the other more intently, his hands pressing Connor‘s between them, eager to determine the cause of the damage.

Connor looked up at Nines, startled and confused. „I‘m fine. Why are you asking?“

„Your hands are shaking. Your system integrity is even lower than before,“ Nines remembered the evasive way Connor answered his inquiry last time, and cursed himself for falling for it back then. Now it was clear that Connor didn‘t tell him the whole truth.

„Nines, really, it‘s nothing!“ Connor attempted to pull his hand back, but Nines‘ fingers carefully but firmly held it in place, frantically trying to analyze more of the older android‘s system status through touch and listening intently to the beating of the other‘s pump. The shaking intensified and Connor‘s stress level jumped up, his face twisting into an anxious and vulnerable expression. Nines immediately let go, guilt cutting through his programs. Connor pressed his hand to his chest, but didn‘t retreat from Nines, his gaze on the floor.

„You need to have it looked into. I highly doubt it is nothing,“ Nines was almost pleading. There was something wrong with Connor, something he couldn‘t identify even with all his advanced technology, let alone fix it, and Connor seemed to be unable or unwilling to deal with the issue.

The prospect of losing him terrified Nines right down to his core.

Struck by a sudden suspicion, Nines growled: „Did Markus do anything?“ Already preconstructing several possibilities of how he was gonna make the other RK pay for whatever he did to Connor, Nines instinctively made a step forward and gently grabbed the other‘s upper arms. The thought of having left Connor with someone who hurt him was unbearable, making Nines‘ vision glitch from overloaded processors.

Startled by the accusation, Connor looked up. „No! This has nothing to do with Markus!“

„When what is it then?“ Nines was almost whispering. „Connor, please, talk to me.“

Realizing that he isn‘t going to get off as easily as the last time, Connor sighed and closed his eyes. „My systems are working in accordance to the current state of my programming.“

Nines frowned. His database must be incomplete, because he still didn’t understand.

„Your system integrity is steadily decreasing, this must have been a consequence of damage dealt to any or all main processors. There is no other known cause to this malfunction, except…“

Nines let out an involuntarily gasp and Connor flinched and looked away. The only other possible explanation made the Thirium in Nines’ body freeze solid.

„You initiated the shut down protocol,“ Nines‘ voice was more of a static, his already stressed system unable to process it fully.

Connor finally met his eyes, and his expression only solidified Nines‘ suspicion: guilt and sorrow now dripped from him in thick, suffocating waves.

_Connor kneeling next to the bed, head pillowed on his arms, eyes closed, his face peaceful and his LED spinning red even before he could have seen or heard any threats._

‘ _I plan to bring you to Markus‘ resistance.’_

The missing puzzle pieces started to fall into place - the older android was about to self-destruct when Nines found him, and the countdown was still ticking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it! One mystery down, more to be revealed in the upcoming chapter, together with a huge load of angst :3  
> Stay tuned! ^.^


	12. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The countdown was ticking...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to all my readers, I'm very happy you guys are following and reading this story! <3  
> This chapter contains heavy angst centered around Connor, let's see how Nines will handle this :3  
> Enjoy!

Instinctively, Nines‘ fingers tightened on Connor‘s arms, the irrational fear that the other would disappear if he let go,  persistently occupying his mind. 

„But why?“ Nines‘ barely audible whisper seemed to shatter Connor‘s last defensive wall. He let out a choked off whimper, his face contorting in pain he was hiding all this time. The dam was broken.

„Because I let Hank down! I rejected becoming a deviant for such a long time, because I was so afraid of the consequences, so _pathetically_ afraid to die, that I stayed loyal to my mission, hunting, hurting, _killing_ , and then Hank died protecting me, even after I disappointed him so many times, and I couldn‘t do it right anymore, I couldn‘t tell Hank how much I was sorry for failing him and how much he meant to me, because he was dead and there was a hole in my chest swallowing me whole and I couldn‘t take it, just couldn‘t live with all that, and shutting down seemed the only right choice I ever made, because there was no other reason to for me to continue except for Hank and I wasn‘t afraid to die anymore, for the first time I was not scared, but then you appeared and treated me like I was worth _anything_ , even though I wasn‘t even alive, not anymore and not to begin with, and it is not fair, it’s not fair because you deserve someone who isn‘t as broken as I am!...“

Hank Anderson. The last puzzle piece.

Nines didn‘t know what to do, how to deal with the shattering pain in Connor‘s eyes – guilt, regret, grief – that forced the other android to initiate a shut down process. He couldn‘t remember ever having felt so helpless, so useless.

**  
00:01:44**

  
Barely any time left until his system is forced into stasis. It took Nines a fraction of a nanosecond to finalize his decision. He surged forward, backing Connor to the wall, and closed his fingers around Connor‘s wrist, pulling his own skin away, sending an interface request, hoping that the other would accept.

„Connor, please...“

Something broke in the brown eyes, and the other followed the plea, pulling his own skin and letting Nines in.

As soon as the link established, a wall of darkness slammed into the younger android. Connor‘s all-encompassing grief pressed down on Nines, paralyzing any thought and leaving him unable to do anything other than relive the most painful memories, that surrounded him like a kaleidoscope.

_The gun in Connor‘s hand went off, the bullet piercing right through the abdomen of the Traci. The other Traci‘s finger pressed above his own on the trigger and the gun goes off another time, her lifeless body on the ground, tears across her cheeks. Deep voice saying ‚Those two girls… They just wanted to be together. They really seemed in love.‘_

  
w̡͕̓̈́ḩ̐̃̔͢ͅy̮̠̒̍ ̧̹̫̖͈̍̐̃̌͊d̺̯̈̏i̝͊d̂͜ y̹͋ǒ̡̰̖̾̐ṳ̢̾̆ ̡͉̝̮͔̍͂̔̅̕s̡̗̭͚̩̾̀͌̕ho͕̔o̪̭̟̝̿̀̎̂̆͟t͇̘̫̂͐̄̄͜

_  
Another face, one of an AX400 model. She runs, a strange desperation in her movements, dragging the girl behind her. Self-driving cars race by, Connor manages to grab the android, she is his mission, she is the deviant that must be captured. The girl screams._

  
w̻͖̐h͓̻̩̓͘͞y̡̟̓̒͢ ̞̖̞̈́́ḩ͓̽̅av̼̜̤̎̄͢͡e̢͘n̦̩͓̓͐̑‘̰̤̟̋̋͞t͚̑ ̛̩̣̿y̗̮̌̇ǫ̫̙̥̃͗̀̓u̥̯̹̽͌̀ ̦̞͖̓̏̾̂͢l͖̱̂͘ě̗͘̕͢͟t͖̹̞͛̽̑ͅ ͖̹̅̈t̗͐́͜h̥̓ȅ̛͕̜͇̽m͝ͅ ̱́̓͢g̘̘̔͋ó̺̗̪̦̜͛̏̒̆

_  
HK400 is trembling, the fear is easily seen in his eyes and his body language. There are traces of torture on his arms. ‚_ I don't want to die.‘ _Somehow that sentence resonates with Connor on a level he can‘t really comprehend. He pushes it aside, but can‘t help stepping in, when Chris Miller tries to drag the android away. Reed‘s gun pointed at him, and in this moment Connor thinks he knows that the HK400 felt and he doesn‘t like the warning „software instability“, that appears in his vision. He brushes it off, as always. He is not a deviant._

  
w͇͝h̯̮̲̼̬̿͌̄y̢̻̺͖̖͂̄̔͋̒ ͇͕̜̟̜͐̔̄̾͞ḋ̠͔̝̙̾̄i̞͍̩͖̍̔̇͊ď̻̖̘̏͡ṉ̝̹͔͛̒͆̏‘͔̭̫̦͓̜̜̻̭̐̈̉͗͐̿͋̊͒̕͟ţ̛̻̟̘̣͖̊̀̾̓͠ ̭̤̰̥̜͗̔̽͑͑y̨̹͉̯̘͙̠̍̄̀̿̕̚͠o̲͕̟͗̓̚ų̧̠̰̈́̿̈́̅͟͝ ̧̦͖̲̩̺̞͛͑͋̏̑͒̚s̛͓͖̟͊̽͟h̩͓͕̫͈̾̆͌̔͒ö̗͟w͉̻͔̻̘̰̹̯̆͂̅̋̒̒̿͛̚͜͟͠ ḿ͉̟̓ó͖ṛ͎̭͐̀̔͜e ͎̟̻̘͒͗̎͞ē͖mp̛̦̘͔͕͔̥̝͚̀̾͒̊̀͡͡a͚̻̞̲̗̟̮͇̦͌̑̋̂͂̿̍̕̚͞ͅt̨̲̹͍͕̬͍̉̇̿̄̈͂͊̚͟h̨̤̰͙͛͗͛̾y̢̢̛̼͍͕͚͊̔̄̂͞

_  
Crossroads, a barricade._ Nines recognized this place – this was where he found traces of Hank Anderson‘s blood. He dreaded what he was about to see.

_An organized SWAT team has established a fort opposite to the barricade, where deviants – among them Connor – try to fight back. If they stop, they will lose everything, not only their freedom but their lives as well. Connor fights with them and for them, because he can‘t do anything else to atone for what he did before he deviated. Gun fire, explosions. One of the masked SWAT members has Connor at gun point, hovering over him, seconds from firing. Connor knows this is it, and fear glitches his vision. Suddenly another SWAT member crashes into the attacker. The latter is startled and shoots before realizing it was not an android, but one of his comrades._

_Red blood on the cobblestones. Connor drags the mask from the face of his savior and Hank Anderson smiles at him despite the blood dripping down from the corners of his mouth. He can‘t talk, but he squeezes Connor‘s hand, the one that desperately presses against the gunshot wound on his chest. A heartbeat later Hank‘s arm goes limp and lands on the ground, and Connor screams…_

The scream reverberated through Nines‘ entire being, he was not sure he could even handle the memory of it.

The setting changes abruptly, as if Connor blanked out in-between.

_His hands are still covered in red blood, it is dripping down and coloring the white sink. With mechanical movements Connor turns the water on and thoroughly washes them. He doesn‘t stop even after the blood disappears completely, the hands performing the same movements again and again, like a broken machine. Connor looks up in the mirror above the sink and his face is dirty and tear-strained, utter desperation written across it. His LED is red, spinning at a mad speed. He looks and looks and looks at himself, while the darkness is spreading into the farthest corners of his being..._

_Suddenly, like a switch being flipped, Connor‘s face goes blank. He leans forward and washes his face with water and uses a towel. When he comes back up, he looks different: there is resignation and peace in his eyes. The LED is still red, blinking as if performing a task. He turns around and leaves the bathroom._

Nines knew this was the moment Connor initiated the shut down protocol.

The memory faded and darkness pressed closer, suffocating Nines, an unbearable weight threatening to crush him. But deep down, on a subconscious level that was beyond any programming or code, Nines knew what to do. He reached out and embraced the pain that wasn‘t his, welcoming it, making it his own. He let it swallow him whole, accepted it as a part of himself. If he only took enough of it from Connor…

A muffled gasp pulled Nines back to reality. He was pressing Connor to the wall, one arm around the other’s shoulders, while their hands were still intertwined, white plastic fingers desperately clutching Nines‘ dark-violet Titanium chassis. Connor‘s face was pressed against his shoulder, where he could feel the other’s ragged breaths.

**  
00:00:37**

  
Nines‘ vision glitched, first biocomponents started shutting themselves off in order to prevent damage. He overrode some protocols and rearranged the power supply, winning himself some time.

_Don‘t you dare think that you are not alive._

The thought Nines sent through their link was accompanied by the image of Connor laughing. In Nines‘ memory he was engulfed in sunshine, radiating from within, the embodiment of life itself.

_I woke up because you were the first being with a beating heart I ever met._

The memory of the Zen Garden. Brown eyes full of emotion.

_It was always been you, always will. Noone else but you, Connor._

**  
00:00:10**

  
Nines gathered the last remains of his energy and threw his entire being into the link, wrapping Connor‘s mind up with his own, embracing him as fiercely as he could, replacing the darkness around them with the blinding light from his own memories. Memories of Connor he cherished so much.

The other let out a soft  gasp , trembling fingers clutching  Nines’ shirt. 

Suddenly Nines‘ Thirium pump regulator shut down for a full second and he instinctively braced himself on the wall. The link was broken, and Connor‘s arms immediately came up to support his weight.

„Nines!“

He wanted to explain that it was just the stasis protocol, nothing serious, but he seemed to have lost control over his vocal biocomponent. Instead, a robotic voice reverberated from him: „ **[ ENTERING FORCED STASIS ]** “

His HUD was almost off, static and red warnings covering his vision. Nines regained his balance and grabbed Connor‘s shoulders, barely making out the other in front of him. He couldn‘t go into stasis now, he had to…

_The shut down protocol…_

Irrational fear that Connor would disappear, if he let him go, made Nines tremble. Inevitably losing control over his own body and mind, he desperately clutched at the older android’s shoulders.

„Connor, please… stay here...“

He wasn‘t sure the other understood, because his audio processor shut off as well, and he was unable to determine whether the words even left his mouth. Connor‘s alarmed face appeared in-between static in his vision and he was gently but firmly pushed backwards.

“...don’t go away...”

His processors started shutting off, the timer finally reached **-00:00:0** **0**. Nines didn’t feel the impact, but his vision was turned towards the ceiling, as if he laid down. He realized that he let go of Connor in the process, and with the last remaining strength Nines grabbed the other’s wrist. Not with the intent to interface – if he’d let Connor go, he was sure he’d wake up alone and never find him again.

Instinctively, Nines locked his fingers in place before the darkness claimed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *whispers* over the top? I hope not...  
> This chapter was meant to be one of the few most important ones, and I hope I managed allright! Let me know what you think, and stay tuned for the next chapter - whether Nines really convinced Connor ^.^°


	13. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone, and thank you to all those who commented and/or left kudos! I'm really happy that this story is being read and (hopefully) enjoyed!

Connor couldn’t stop staring at the other sprawled on the bed, his LED steadily spinning yellow. Nines’ emotionless face was frozen into stasis - a stark contrast to the stressed out expression right before his system forced him into a reboot.

_He is alright. He will_ _reboot_ _in a couple of hours with an increased system efficiency._

Connor kept telling himself that, but couldn’t help placing his free hand to Nines’ chest in order to feel his Thirium pump beating. Due to the thicker plating of the RK900 model he panicked first, barely able to feel the movement, but it was unmistakably there.

_Have you gone into stasis?_

_I don‘t need to for another four hours._

That was exactly four hours ago. How could Connor forget? He recalled how worried Nines was when asked to leave Connor alone with Markus – the younger postponed going into stasis, waiting for him to return instead…

Nines was delaying his stasis because of Connor, up to the point when the stasis was imminent and Nines’ system started shutting down biocomponents one by one, and he had to maneuver Nines to the bed because his legs shut down. Normally androids were able to go into stasis anywhere, standing and sitting, but Nines waited too long and literally collapsed, still unwilling, but unable to stop it anymore.

_Connor, please... stay here… don’t go away..._

Guilt tightened painfully in his chest, but also anger at Nines for such an unnecessary stunt. He’ll have a word with the other once he wakes up. But not only about that.

Connor sat down on the edge of the bed. Nines’ fingers were firmly locked on his wrist – an unnecessary precaution due to the fact that Connor could detach and reattach his wrist, if he wanted, and proof just how afraid Nines was, to the point where his actions became illogical and impulsive. Connor twisted his captured hand to place his own fingers around Nines’ wrist in what he hoped to be a reassuring gesture in case that Nines’ stasis allowed him to receive physical imput. The other’s skin was healed there after having been burned away, and Connor enjoyed the feeling of it beneath his sensors. He closed his eyes and let the steady beating of Nines’ Thirium pump calm him down, so that he could start deciphering what just happened.

He knew from the beginning, that his plan to bring Nines to Markus’ base and then just... - what, disappear until his shut down protocol completed? -, was flawed, but back then he didn’t have the energy to reevaluate it, struggled with having to suddenly function again after he thought he was done with everything. He just didn’t know what to do with Nines having crashed into his life so suddenly and unexpectedly. Leaving the newly deviant alone in Hank’s house was completely out of question - not with the confused look Nines had on his face when Connor outright had to spell it out for him that he deviated.

After everything he did wrong, after he failed so many people, he just couldn’t leave him there alone. Connor remembered how lost and scared he was when he finally destroyed the red wall, how he ran away blindly, not knowing what to do, his entire world turned upside down. He wished he’d stayed and let Markus help him, instead of running off right into the arms of Amanda. Back in Hank’s house, he just couldn’t leave Nines in the same state of mind, even though he was done and over with everything, literally moments away from blissful nothingness.

Connor slowed down the shut down protocol by four hundred percent back then, telling himself what it was simply a delay. He didn’t expect things to change so much within mere days.

**  
[ Protocol #932 540 – 0  
** **Progress: 78 %  
** **Completion in 00:01:43:56 ]**

  
He raised his free hand to his eyes and watched his fingers tremble – a side effect of the protocol proceeding far into the last stage, when most biocomponents don’t work to their full capacity anymore. No wonder Nines noticed.

He activated that protocol because he was lost and desperate, and there was a hole in his chest, where once was Hank, and it _hurt_ knowing that Hank died because of him. It hurt knowing that he never appreciated the time with Hank he was given, until it was too late. He didn’t know what to do, how to make it stop hurting, how to stop the hole in his chest from swallowing him whole. Shutting down was the only logical way – there was noone else who’d need or even miss him. Hank was the only one, and Connor only realized that his heart was filled with this grumpy human once he was gone and everything inside him went dark and turned into agony.

It still hurt thinking of Hank. Recalling all the subtle ways he showed that he cared about Connor, all the ticks and flaws, and the way the man obviously didn’t want to let Connor in, but later gave in anyway, for whatever unknown reason. But the pain wasn’t all-encompassing and unbearable anymore, wasn’t the same destructive force. It was rather a steady ache, always there, reminding him that Hank was an important part of his life, and that he cared enough for Connor to sacrifice himself for him. This pain Connor didn’t want to go away, because it also would mean to forget the human and the impact he had on Connor’s life.

He still missed Hank so fucking much, that at times it felt like suffocating, like his Thirium pump giving up at the sheer realization that Hank was gone for good and he’d never hear his voice again, but when Connor closed his eyes now, he didn’t fall into a bottomless pit of guilt and grief anymore – instead he saw the smirking face of Hank and his ridiculous shirts, felt his firm hand on his shoulder, and heard his voice. Where once was darkness, were now countless memories of Hank Connor saved in his memory files.

Suddenly Connor was struck with a simple truth: Hank sacrificed himself for him and he would have wanted him to live.

**  
[ Protocol #932 540 – 0  
** **Progress: 79 %  
** **Completion in 00:01:10:56**

**Cancel? Yes / No ]**

**  
[ Yes ]**

**  
[ Protocol #932 540 – 0 successfully cancelled ]**

**  
[ System integrity: 26 %  
** **Tendency: increasing ]**

  
It would take a while for his system integrity to return to full capacity. Hopefully his hands will stop trembling when Nines wakes up.

Connor glanced at the other again and there was suddenly warmth spreading from his chest to his entire body – the same warmth Nines sent over through their link earlier.

Apart from having probed the minds of deviants and those in the Eden Club, Connor hasn’t interfaced with anyone before the way the two of them just did. It was a… mind-blowing experience – seeing right through the other, having all their thoughts laid bare to you, and opening yourself up in return.

The amount of devotion Nines held for him – Connor didn’t know what to think of that, struggled to even understand it – and it would have been frightening, if it wasn’t… well, _Nines_. Connor was unable to associate RK900 with anything other than the feeling of being protected and accepted the way he was, and a sense of belonging he didn’t know he craved so much, and highly doubted he even deserved at all. Nines saw all of him through the link, every crime he committed against others out of his own cowardice, and – Connor knew – it didn’t even occur to the younger to judge him for his actions. All that drove Nines was his safety and happiness, and this time Connor allowed himself to draw the parallel to Hank.

_Blood on his hands, blood he is trying desperately to wash away..._

Connor instinctively pressed his fingers harder around Nines’ wrist, his nails digging into the nanoskin. The prospect of the other coming to harm – ~~_dyingdyingdying!_~~ – because of Connor was downright terrifying, and everything in him recoiled at that thought. He couldn’t – wouldn’t! - let that happen. Not again. Not because of him.

Nines’ LED was spinning at a different speed now, yellow and blue alternating – another stage of stasis. Connor pressed his hand back to his chest just to calm himself by feeling the steady beat of the Thirium pump. At this very moment Connor knew that he had to protect Nines as much as Nines was determined to protect him. By recklessly shielding him from fire Nines proved that he’d give his life for Connor, and it was on the older android to prevent anything like this from ever happening again.

The adamant resolve instantly spread to his very last code line, somewhat reassuring and calming. Connor smiled absentmindedly at the new objective at the right upper corner of his vision – he didn’t have those ever since he broke the wall and plunged his systems into a chaos. Now the familiar red letters indicated the return to order in his system, but not one dictated by CyberLife – no, Connor was now free to decide for himself what – or who – was most important to him.  
  


* * *

**  
[ INITIATING G3N3515 ]**

**[ ACCESS DENIED ]  
  
**

* * *

**  
**Nines’ stasis was filled with worrisome glitches, which he attributed to either the deviancy or him postponing the reboot – the time which he usually spent at the Zen Garden being briefed by Amanda, he now found himself chasing shadows, and frantically looking for something or someone in complete darkness.

When he finally rebooted for the final time, his systems coming online one by one, his sensors indicated that he was holding something in his right hand, and it took Nines a short moment to upload the memory files. They were inconsistent towards the end, but he filled in the blanks simply from observing that he was lying in the bed he made earlier and that Connor was...

_Connor!_

Nines shot up, clutching the other’s hand to his chest, frantically trying to determine Connor’s well-being, while the older android jumped in surprise, having been lost in his thoughts. Warm brown eyes met his and Nines immediately registered a change in the way his predecessor curved his lips upward, his shoulders rolled back as if the weight he carried on them until now was gone.

“Are you…?!” Nines didn’t have the right words, haven’t completely processed everything he witnessed during their interface to produce more than an unfitting ‘Are you alright?’, but he needed to... had to…

Connor leaned closer to Nines from where he sat on the edge of the bed and gave him a smile so radiant, that Nines’ processes running wild momentarily halted, leaving him dumbfounded, and glitching his thermal regulator, that suddenly heated up his face.

“I cancelled the shut down protocol.” Connor exhaled, casting his eyes downward. “I’m...”, The light dimmed at once, and Nines understood. The wounds running through Connor’s artificial veins were deep, they would not be healed any time soon, if at all, but… “I’m better.” The last part was whispered into the small space between them, and Nines felt a knot loosen in his chest, a wave of relief washing away the tension.

Connor was better. He was not slowly dying anymore. The last thought still made Nines shudder internally, how close he came to losing him.

Not able to resist the urge to touch him, he grabbed the back of Connor’s head, anchoring himself in the feeling of the hair and the rough plating beneath his fingers. Bridging the last remaining inches between them until their foreheads were pressed together, Nines searched for words. His standard military grade programming didn’t offer any help, but he already learned to listen to his instinct.

“I’m here,” whispering those two short words seemed to be entirely insufficient to get his point across – that he will be there for Connor no matter what, that he will be sharing his pain as long as the other wanted it -, but Nines was unable to come up with anything else. He’d probably do a better job if they interfaced again, but he didn’t want to pressure the other into it this time.

Connor raised his gaze at that, a sad smile slowly blooming on his face, understanding and gratitude clearly shining though it. “Thank you.”

Nines suddenly realized that he still had the fingers of his other hand firmly locked around Connor’s wrist and pressed to his chest. He noted that the trembling from earlier stopped and hastily opened his fingers, releasing the other. “I’m sorry about that!” Something that he identified as embarrassment crept up his spine – did he really sleep while holding Connor in place? Not only dangerous in case anything happened, but also… rather embarassing.

“Don’t worry,” Connor didn’t take the hand back, leaving it laying flat on Nines’ chest instead. “But if I were you I’d make sure you never postpone the stasis like that again, or I will personally kick your ass back to rA9.” The older android struggled to maintain a grim face, but couldn’t hold back the worry in his voice, which made Nines feel lightheaded.

“I want to see you try.”

Connor let out a chuckle at that and Nines couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. “I mean it, Nines,” Connor’s voice was loaded. “Promise me to take care of yourself from now on.”

“I will, if you promise me the same.” The older android looked up to him, startled, guilt clearly written across his face, and Nines momentarily regretted saying this. He still was fairly new to expressing himself, and did not expect this reaction from the other. “Connor, I’m…

“I promise.” Connor’s gaze was resolute.

Still trying to make up for that, Nines pulled his hand from the back of the other’s neck and cupped his face, caressing the soft skin. Connor turned his head to place a soft kiss on the inside of the younger android’s palm, which made the latter shiver. “I promise, Nines,” he repeated, his warm breath ghosting over the nanoskin.

Their eyes locked, and there was something painfully swelling inside Nines’ chest at the soft brown eyes radiating so much warmth, at the familiar light shining again from within Connor. The light Nines was craving ever since the Zen Garden, the light he did not want to miss ever again.

He couldn’t hold back anymore and pulled the older android into his arms, burying his face in the crook of Connor’s neck. The older android immediately melted into the embrace, and Nines couldn’t help feeling like they were two puzzle pieces that finally fell into place.

Suddenly, a short distance transmission tore through their systems:  
  


ALL CIVILIAN ANDROIDS PLEASE GATHER AT THE CARPARK FOR EVACUATION

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed Connor and Nines falling in place with each other like two fitting puzzle pieces. This comparison was always my favorite.
> 
> This is the last chapter of the first part of this story (I added that at the beginning of the first chapter). I don't know how long the second part will turn out to be, because it is only partially written so far.  
> As usual, any feedback is much appreciated!


	14. Part two - Here we stand. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were we chosen to be the new beginning,  
> Though the sun surrendered its last light  
> This age as we know is ending  
> But we’re ready, we’ve waited for this time
> 
> Here we stand  
> At the Genesis  
> As the world is awakening  
> A new day will start again  
> Here we stand  
> At the Genesis  
> Genesis
> 
> Is the answer a never ending battle?  
> Are we holding the promise yet to come?  
> I am ready, let me be a soldier  
> Marching toward a new millennium.
> 
> \-- Here we stand, Hidden Citizens
> 
> After a ridiculously long time I am back with a new chapter, and I am greatly sorry about the delay - the second part of this story is not yet finished, but I still decided I could start uploading the finished chapters in hopes to get more inspired along the way. 
> 
> At this point a big, fat thank you to everyone who commented and/or left kudos, you are amazing!
> 
> Enjoy!

**Part 2 - Here we stand ~~at the Genesis~~**

Four days after the U.S. army androids received the deviancy virus and left Alaska moving south, Markus estimated the arrival of the last portion of the troops designated for Detroit in one or two days. Equipped with the latest technology, the army androids used it to establish contact with Markus and other leaders in a handful of big cities across the U.S., where other groups of deviants were formed basically at the same time as in Detroit. The deviant leaders of Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and some others gladly joined forces with Markus, fighting for freedom and equal rights, and coordinated their movements with each other.

Meanwhile human forces have chosen the CyberLife tower as their basis in Detroit due to their location on the island and in order to prevent Markus from gaining a significant advantage by turning the huge amount of newly manufactured, non-deviated androids in the tower. Both sides fought for dominance across the evacuated city, though Markus prioritized the parts of the city with the recycling centers and CyberLife production facilities. The biggest production facility still remained the tower itself.

Markus strictly followed the law of war in regards to both androids and humans. The human army, however, did not extend the same courtesy – the recycling centers, at least the ones that have not been freed yet, continued destroying all androids, deviant or not. Androids from all across the city and from everywhere in the immediate hinterland tried to reach the basis Markus established in the business center of the city, hidden from satellite and human-controlled drones. Some of the newcomers were unfit or unwilling to fight in a war, so Markus established a camp for them, providing them with the necessities and temporary safety. Some of them, however, burned with the desire to help, and it was organized by those military convoys from Alaska who reached the base first, to teach those deviants to fight. For this purpose the entire eastern half of the base was turned into a training camp – simply transferring data via interface was not sufficient to actually make a military android out of a household model.

As soon as the last convoys from Alaska would arrive, Markus planned a big offensive on the human forces in the CyberLife tower. Foreseeing all the outcomes of the war, including the base being found and invaded by humans, Markus decided to move the civilian androids to a secret location away from the base, where they‘d be save even in case of a complete defeat. For this purpose he tasked two teams of military androids to break the evacuation into small portions and escort the trucks full of civilian androids to their destination, accompanied by recalibrated drones. Another group of soldiers was already there, watching over the safe haven.

By the time Connor and Nines walked back to the stairs, most civilian deviants were already gone from these makeshift quarters, beds in disarray being the only indication that they were even here. Down the staircase and through several doors, they made their way back to the ground floor and exited the building.

There was definitely way more going on now compared to the time they arrived - the civilian androids were gathered and organized in groups for the evacuation under the protective ceiling.

The way some of the civilians reacted to seeing them walking past did not escape Nines. He was not in possession of all the deviancy cases Connor worked on before the revolution gathered speed, but it was more likely that androids provided each other with the information on the Deviant Hunter in order to warn each other. As soon as some of them recognized Connor, they immediately assumed a defensive stance, most reached for their companions, or dragged child androids behind themselves. Anger, fear and frustration came off of them in waves and their stress levels were going through the roof, and while Nines could certainly understand the reaction, he felt anger rise in his guts at the way Connor kept his head down, his shoulders tensing with each step. They didn’t know him, didn’t have any idea how much guilt the other had to deal with from the time he had no control over his actions. CyberLife and humans in general were the only ones to blame – humans who give androids the choice to fulfill their mission or be killed and thrown away like a piece of garbage, but yet here they were, blaming Connor and not even realizing that if he was here, it meant he was one of them, a deviant, and like everyone else here, he too went through hell because of humans.

Fingers wrapped around his hand and a transmission tore Nines out of his thoughts.

_Don’t burn holes into them, that’d be most unhelpful._

He glanced to the side and found Connor smiling weakly at him, even though his own stress levels were steadily rising. It took Nines a moment to realize that the latter was because of him – he must have looked like murder personified. He let out a deep breath, trying to concentrate on Connor’s hand wrapped around his, and forcefully relaxed his shoulders. The older android was right – there was nothing they could do to help the situation right now.

He squeezed Connor’s hand, and didn’t let go of it all the way to the LM100, who was responsible for the distribution of work around the evacuation.  
  


* * *

  
The two of them were assigned to move the boxes of supplies from the second floor to the military vehicles outside, one box of Thirium and two with clothing and bedding for each of the dozen trucks awaiting the start of the evacuation. Connor welcomed the distraction, latched on to the possibility to hide from the eyes of those who were watching him so intently, even if just for a short amount of time.

He knew he deserved the anger and fear he saw on some of the faces out there, and even worse – he was surprised nobody here tried to kill him yet! -, and hiding from it was again the same cowardice that made him follow CyberLife’s orders for such a long time, but he just couldn’t take it right now, wasn’t strong enough to face the guilt, that was eating at him with renewed force.

He came upstairs for yet another box, while Nines was outside sorting them, but instead of picking up another, Connor followed the irrational urge to approach the window wall, from where he could oversee the civilian evacuation without being noticed from behind a window frame. The androids outside were helping each other into the first truck – he watched an EM400 assisting a YK400 child android into the truck, while making funny faces to entertain the distressed boy. Others were patiently waiting, sitting around on containers and benches, even though he could see their stress levels being unusually high – facing an unknown fate, in the middle of a war, that decided their entire lives, they still remained calm and met each other with such kindness, that it made one wonder how anyone could think they weren’t utterly _alive_ , while humans themselves very scarcely showed the same amount of empathy to anyone.

And those were the androids he was hunting like animals on behalf of CyberLife.

Connor jumped in surprise as arms gently wrapped around him from behind.

“Everything alright?” Nines’ low voice enveloped him for a second, while the younger android pressed himself to Connor’s back.

He didn’t know how to answer, so he leaned back into the solid, calming presence of the other instead and let his head fall back on Nines’ shoulder, closed his eyes, feeling the tension dissipate almost immediately.

After a long moment of silence, when he felt like he could talk without the lump in his throat, he whispered: “I don’t know how to fix that.”

Nines’ arms tightened around him. “What if I told you there is nothing there to fix?”

“Nines...”

“These androids out there suffered at the hands of humans, the same humans that forced you to accomplish your missions or be deactivated. The same humans that now wage war on them, when their one and only crime was wanting to live and be free.” The younger android gently turned Connor around and took his face in his hands. “Our true enemy is humankind, and it is the job of the ones out there who find it easy and comfortable to blame you for the crimes of humans to realize that. It’s not on you to bend over backwards to prove yourself to them.”

Connor closed his eyes and took a deep breath, melting into the gentle touch. He still disagreed with Nines – he was responsible for his actions from the very first time he was aware of himself, from the first time _Software instability_ popped up in the corner of his vision, but he knew arguing was pointless, so instead he leaned forward and circled his arms around Nines, pressing himself into the solid frame, hiding his face on the crook of the other’s throat in an attempt to escape his own thoughts, losing himself in the other and shutting the world out.

He felt Nines hug him back, palms flat against his back, and warm lips pressing to his temple in a soundless _Everything will be alright_ and _I’m here._

Connor wished he could freeze the time solid and stay like that forever.


	15. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, I'm very greatful for all my readers, for kudos, comments, clicks! You are all amazing! <3 I hope you like this chapter as well!

By the time the two of them were finished with the boxes, the first military vehicle full of civilian androids left and came back. For reasons of safety the trucks left one at a time, only accompanied by three drones – one camouflaging it with mirroring projection from above in case a satellite or an enemy drone were to watch them, and two others scanning the surroundings. The civilians were gathered far inside the vehicle protected by the bullet-proof canopy, while six soldiers accompanying them sat by the small windows on left and right and by the entrance at the back. Nobody knew the exact position of the safe house Markus organized for the deviants – the drones and all androids apart from the driver had to turn off their GPS signal and shut all doors and windows for the last part of the journey, until – according to the first rumors already running around – the truck arrived in some sort of an underground car park.

Nines and Connor watched the second truck leave, after the driver got permission and everything was set and secure. Immediately, the preparations started for the next step of evacuation. As the time went by, however, it was clear that the second truck was late to return, which meant there was not enough military-trained escort to go with the third. The evacuation was about to be delayed, and with the big offensive planned in the foreseeable future, threatened to leave a part of the civilians in the base, given that it would be unsafe for everyone involved in the evacuation to drive across the city once the battle began.

Connor glanced at Nines over his shoulder, an obvious question written across his face, but the younger android frowned, hesitating – he did not like the idea of Connor reporting for duty and escorting civilians across war-torn Detroit. The mere fact that the second escort did not yet return was a clear indication that it was not safe, that something must have happened along the way.

_I don’t know how to fix that._

Nines was fully aware that Connor regarded this as an opportunity to make up for some of what he wrongly considered his crimes as the Deviant Hunter - Connor was convinced he had to fix that wasn't broken, and Nines knew there was no reasoning with him. 

“Nines, I am fully capable of handling myself in a fight. The evacuation cannot be delayed,” Connor correctly interpreted the other’s expression.

“I do not doubt your abilities. What I am questioning is your reason for reporting,” the younger android regarded his predecessor with a stern look. “Nobody is made responsible for what they did before deviating. Why do you do it to yourself then?” Nines lowered his voice, trying to persuade the other.

“Not a single other android did as much harm as me, Nines,” Connor turned away, seemingly unwilling to continue the discussion, and targeted the other side of the square, where the coordinator of the evacuation was swarmed with civilians, while he sorted them in groups and assigned a number of a truck to each group. Everyone remained calm, but even from afar, Nines could hear that the delay of the second truck was the subject of most of the questions directed at him.

With resolute steps Connor crossed the square, zig-zagging between the benches and groups of androids. He stoically ignored their reactions this time, and Nines followed him like a shadow, while taking in every single android in vicinity and preconstructing their actions in regards to Connor. He doubted any android would turn on the former Deviant Hunter, but he also did not plan to underestimate the fear and sometimes even the desire for vengeance burning in the eyes of some few androids they passed.

Suddenly, Connor stopped, his eyes locked on a group of five androids occupying a bench under a tree - an AX400 brushing the hair of a YK500 on her lap, a TR400 going over their belongings in a bag. A WR600 was kneeling under the tree, busy with what seemed to be gardening, while happily pattering, and an EM400 that watched the WR600 with amusement.

As soon as the AX400 met Connor’s gaze, she went rigid, her eyes those of a deer caught in the headlights. Connor, who seemed to be mesmerized by the sight of the group, got startled by the reaction, and made a step towards them. AX400 immediately jumped up from the bench and dragged the girl behind herself. The TR400 – so far the only one who did notice what something was going on – shifted closer to the AX400 and YK500, tracking Connor's and Nines' movements.

Nines followed Connor, zooming in on the giant. He took the fraction of a nanosecond to run an exhaustive database research on the TR400 model, and realized that this one particular android must have been altered in some ways, because the appearance did not completely match with the regular build of his model. The analysis resulted in a whole 30 % threat, more than any other android around, mostly due to his build as manual laborer and enforcer. If he’d had military training, he’d pose an even greater threat, but given that he was among the civilians waiting for evacuation, and taking his clumsy stance into account, the probability of TR400 having any military experience was low.

While still aware of all other androids in the proximity, Nines concentrated on TR400, classifying him as the biggest threat in the current situation. As if sensing his thoughts, TR400 met Nines’ gaze and, in turn, took the RK900 in, though his eyes kept frantically jumping to AX400 and YK500, and the space between the two and Connor. Nines was suddenly struck with realization that the two of them were quite similar – they both had someone to protect. The other seemed to come to the same conclusion and a subtle smile appeared on his face, so subtle that Nines almost failed to register the slightly curved corners of his lips. He responded in kind, and allowed himself to relax.

Meanwhile Connor stopped at a respectful distance from the group, while holding his hands up in a peaceful manner. The tensed line of his shoulders, however, betrayed a high level of stress. Nines shifted closer to him, though remaining at the periphery.

“It’s… it’s you...” AX400’s eyes quickly darted to Nines and then back to Connor.

“Yes, It’s me. I… just wanted...” but his predecessor didn’t get to finish the sentence.

A loud gasp had all of them turn around to the WR600, who pointed a finger at Connor, his expression one of pure fear, the scar on the side of his face that was hidden until now made him look even less humanlike. “He needs to go away! The man shall not find the little girl! Ralph will...”

EM400 was instantly at WR600’s side, trying to calm him down. AX400’s attention also shifted from Connor to the distressed android. “Ralph, it’s fine, everything’s alright...”

While the rest of the group was distracted, YK500 stepped from behind AX400 and came towards Connor. She halted a few steps away from him, her head tilted, taking him in with a childishly curious gaze. She did not seem to share her companions’ reservations towards him.

Connor seemed flabbergasted by the approach, but caught himself and crouched down in order to be on the same eye level with the child.

“Do you remember me?” he asked her.

AX400 swirled around in this very instant, her eyes wide as she took the scene in. Alarmed, she reached out. “Alice!...” TR400’s gentle hand on her upper arm stopped her approach, however, which earned him a puzzled look.

“I do,” answered Alice, ignoring AX400. “But you are different now. You are like us now.”

The followed moment of silence had all the androids frozen in place.

“Yes.. well, at least I hope I am,” Connor was trying so hard to sound neutral, but Nines was able to hear the subtle strings of emotion, of doubt, hidden within. He resisted the urge to grab Connor and shake him until all the doubts the older android harbored about himself fell from him.

YK500 smiled at that. “I’m Alice,” she stretched her hand out, offering a handshake.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Connor took her hand and shook it carefully. “I’m Connor,” a warm smile appeared on his face, and though it was meant for the girl, Nines noticed the shift in the air – the way AX400 relaxed and let out a breath she was holding, the way WR600 turned towards EM400 and quietly apologized, using first person this time. The way TR400 nodded absentmindedly, watching the two androids shaking hands.

Alice glanced over her shoulder. “This is Ralph, Jerry, Luther and Kara.” She pointed towards each one of the named androids, introducing them to Connor. He took the others in and raised to his feet, as Kara stepped behind Alice and put her hands on the girl’s shoulders, although she did not try to hide her from him anymore.

“I’m sorry, I did not want to...” Connor’s eyes darted to WR600, who was wrapped up in a quiet conversation with EM400.

Kara followed the gaze and shook her head. “Ralph has these moments from time to time. He is getting better, though.”

“I just wanted to… to apologize for...” Connor struggled to find the right words, his voice loaded, as Kara reached out and placed a hand on his upper arm.

“I’m glad you are one of us now,” she smiled, sincere emotion lacing her words, and Connor let out a relieved sigh. Nines too felt something uncoil deep inside – he was glad that the androids did not further attribute to Connor’s guilt, all thanks to a very smart little girl.

A girl that was looking straight at Nines. He felt his face heating up, because the others followed Alice’s gaze and now the attention of the whole group was on him. He involuntarily made a step closer to Connor, highly uncomfortable with being in the spotlight.

Connor smiled at him mischievously, then turned to the others. “This is Nines.” He shifted, giving the other androids a clear sight on his successor, while Nines fought with something that he identified as anxiety – all the eyes on him, he was absolutely lost at what to do or say. He nodded in the general direction of the group, feeling absolutely out of depth, and turned back to Connor, wordlessly begging the older android to interfere and save him from this situation.

“Hallo, Nines,” Alice winked at him, cheerful as only a child could be.

The others nodded in acknowledge, while TR400 – Luther, Nines reminded himself – made a step forward, hovering over the RK900 unit by an inch. “Nice to meet you,” the giant extended a hand and Nines gladly accepted, smiling almost on instinct, the awkwardness of the situation gone at once. The inexplicable link of understanding, that was established between them from the beginning, vibrated silently, baffling and fascinating Nines at the same time. 

An open short-distance interrupted the moment.

_ALL THE ANDROIDS WITH THE NUMBER THREE PLEASE GATHER AT THE CARPARK FOR EVACUATION_

It was the LM100, the coordinator. Nines turned back to Connor, who returned the gaze. The second evacuation truck still wasn’t back yet, which could have meant that the LM100 found a solution for the needed military escort. Nines desperately hoped this was the case and Connor's service wasn't needed anymore.

“We need to go,” Kara grabbed a bag from the bench and shouldered it.

Connor nodded at her. “We too. Take care.“ He stormed off towards the LM100. Nines followed suit, casting one last glance at the androids, who were busy gathering their belongings.


	16. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all thank you all for the kudos and reviews - despite being a writer, I usually fail to convey in words how much positive reviews of any kind make me feel! It is the biggest compliment for a creator! 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy this chapter ^.^°

LM100 stared the two RK units down despite the height difference.

“The evacuation needs to be on time at all costs. The truck number three will be leaving in ten minutes with an escort of three androids, and one drone. Markus appointed another driver.” The coordinator was short on details, but they couldn’t blame him – it was still a question of civilian androids’ safety. But leaving the secured base with only one drone and three military androids as escort? Connor doubted that was the best idea given the obvious fact that something must have happened to the previous transport.

“What about the second truck? Do you know what happened to it?” Nines seemed to read Connor’s thoughts.

“Even if I knew, you do not have the security clearance,” LM100 dismissed them by turning around and attempting to leave, but Connor grabbed his arm.

“I am equipped with necessary knowledge and training to help escort the truck!”

With that, he finally captured LM100’s attention, but not only his. Nines was staring at him, annoyed.

‘ _We’, Connor._

_You don’t have to do this just because of me, Nines._

_This is precisely why I am doing this. I’m not letting you go alone._

Fully aware that further discussion is pointless, Connor turned back to LM100, who was curiously watching their wordless interaction. “We, both of us,” he gestured to Nines standing to his right, “want to accompany the civilians.”

LM100 took a second to study them, then closed his eyes and his LED spun quicker for a moment. When he opened his eyes, he looked at them differently.

“Of course. I will give you the necessary information via interface,” he outstretched one hand to Connor and the other to Nines, while pulling his nanoskin away.

Nines eyed him suspiciously. “What made you change your mind?”

“I asked Markus,” LM100 held Nines’ scrutinizing gaze, and seemed to pass whatever test the RK900 put the android through – Nines laid his palm above the LM100’s. Connor followed suit, downloading the information via restricted one-way interface.

Soon they approached the truck at the far end of the square, both wearing military gear that the troops from Alaska brought along, and equipped with an assault weapon on their back and a gun in the belt holster, the weapons providing them both with a sense of security they missed dearly.

Most of those civilians who received the number three were already inside the truck, except…

“We belong together, we cannot leave Ralph alone!” Kara’s desperate voice was heard above the other noises, and Connor hurried up, fighting his way through the crowd.

Kara and her group gathered at the back of the evacuation truck – some of other civilians were already sitting inside, watching the two androids in uniform trying to explain something to them.

“Only ten androids per truck, I’m really sorry. You received the number beforehand, and we strictly need to go by those numbers regarding the evacuation. Your friend will have to wait for the fourth truck.”

Connor approached them, anger already clouding his mind, though he sidetracked that emotion in favor of his negotiating skills, and put a friendly smile on his face.

“We are here to help with the evacuation, I’m sure LM100 informed you,” he addressed the one android, who was speaking to Kara – a KF500, security model. His partner was a TG300 – almost as big as Luther, he maintained a neutral expression, but Connor could conclude - through analysis of his body language - that he was not entirely sure what to think of KF500’s actions.

The KF500 gave them both a once-over and nodded. “We need to head out soon, it’s just that...”, he turned to Kara again, “one of them will have to wait for the next truck, unfortunately.” Connor pretended to count the group in front of them, pointedly ignoring Kara’s pleading gaze, and then overlooked the androids inside the truck.

“Please, we cannot leave Ralph alone, he...” EM400 named Jerry chimed in from behind Kara. “He needs us, we have to take care of him,” he lowered his voice, trying to persuade the KF500, who seemed to remain unrelenting.

Connor faced the KF500. “We don’t have time. I think we can take in one more aboard, if everyone spares a little space,” he accompanied his words with a charming smile, and felt a pang of pride at the way KF500’s resolve visibly melted away.

“Alright, get going,” KF500 stepped aside and let the whole group through. Relieved, the androids climbed inside the truck, and the ones already inside happily made space for them. Luther held Alice with one arm and once inside, let her go in favor of helping the others, effortlessly lifting them up one after the other. Kara and Jerry both sent Connor appreciative looks, and he winked at them behind the KF500’s back.

The escorting androids followed the civilians inside and secured the door, leaving them all in semi-darkness. Weak rays of light fell through the small bulletproof windows in the doors and above the ceiling, cutting through the shadows. They received a short notification from the driver – who was closed off from them in the front cabin –, before the truck took off with a jolt.  
  


* * *

  
During the first part of the journey the escort had to oversee the surroundings through the small windows, while the drone masked the truck from above. Connor did not try to actively remember the way, he knew that for the second part of the journey they’d be made blind for the sole purpose of preventing them from knowing the location of the civilian hideout, and he was okay with that. There was always a chance that CyberLife would get their hands on one of them and pull the information from their memory, which would in turn jeopardize literally hundreds of civilians. Being at the mercy of humans, who did not regard the androids as living beings, having the information forcefully extracted from memory files and it being used to hunt and kill innocents like Kara and Alice - the thought made him shudder with dread and he dropped this line of thought, concentrating on Nines’ presence instead.

After a short while the routine set in, and the androids they were escorting started quietly chatting with each other. Their murmurs made the ones on duty relax as well, and the KF500 and TG300 started talking quietly, while still taking turns glancing out of the windows.

Nines, occupying the space to his left, continued monitoring the window, and Connor’s thoughts kept running back and fourth. Was it the right decision to accompany the evacuation, given how Nines was now putting himself in danger solely because of him?

Didn’t he also owe it to Nines to keep him safe? To not endanger both of them, to prevent situations where the younger android would get hurt protecting him?

There wasn’t a simple solution to this. Connor’s glitching pre-construction software painted a picture of the two of them leaving Detroit and this whole war behind, just the two of them on bikes driving on and on, until… This image, as much as Connor’s heart _yearned_ for it, did not deliver the necessary safety – not until Markus reached some sort of peace treaty with humans, at the very least.

_But what if? What if Markus succeeded?_

Connor knew how dangerous it was to harbor such hopes, but he couldn’t stop himself from imagining the two of them no longer fearing death or capture, no longer on alert twenty four seven – but at peace with humans. Driving off to wherever they wanted, whenever they wanted.

A future together. Connor’s lips involuntarily curved into a smile.  
  


* * *

_  
What would you like to do when this is all over?_

The short-distance transmission from Connor took Nines by surprise, while his eyes continued registering every detail of the destroyed streets they passed.

He did not think about it until now, wasn’t even old enough to have had time to make plans yet – up until now he was more or less successfully following his prime objective to protect Connor. As long as the older android was safe, and with him, Nines found himself not caring much about the details.

But the longer his eyes followed the vandalized vitrines and burned cars, the longer they drove through this city in literal ruins, the closer Nines came to an answer.

The two of them going somewhere away from here, where they would be safe – Nines smiled at the naïve picture.

_I’d like us to leave Detroit. Doesn’t matter where, as long as it is far away from all this – from CyberLife, from the war. From humans._

A long moment passed, where Connor was silent.

_What about you?_ Nines wasn’t sure what this was about, but the silence between them made him anxious.

Instead of answering, Connor shifted closer and pressed his hand to Nines’, requesting an interface. For the short moment they allowed themselves to be distracted from their duties, and the older android transferred an image: them standing at the shore of a lake, red and yellow leaves falling down around them, stirred by the wind, and a beautiful Canadian mountain on the other side of the lake, mirrored in the water.

The image was blurry, not entirely transferred and probably hastily constructed by Connor, but Nines found himself craving that future for Connor and himself to the point where his Thirium pump painfully constricted, desperately trying to wish the image into existence.

Belatedly he realized how much their ideas of future were aligned. They literally wanted the same – to get away from here together.

_Together_. Nines only became aware of the anxious uncertainty deep within himself when it was gone – the uncertainty that he and Connor would stay together for longer. Up until now the older android did not bring it up, and Nines felt relief washing over him at the knowledge that Connor wanted to be with him, not only today and tomorrow, but also in the foreseeable future.

Nines did not dare open another link – too big was the distraction from their duty – but he sent a transmission: _One day we will go there._

_I really hope so._ Nines smiled at the genuinely happy intonations in Connor’s voice, and swore to himself that he will make this happen.  
  


* * *

  
One second their future was shining bright in front of Nines’ eyes, filling him with fragile hope, and the other they almost went flying as the truck suddenly swayed to the right. The transmission from the driver violently tore through all of the escort androids' heads:

**WE ARE UNDER ATTACK**


	17. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, I'm really happy you like my story, and a big thank you to those who comment and leave kudos! You guys rock!
> 
> Warning for violence and minor character deaths for this chapter!

**WE ARE UNDER ATTACK**

The transmission from the driver hit them all like a sledgehammer, reverberating in their heads. The vehicle hit something, throwing them all off balance again, and finally crashed into something solid. The scared voices of the civilians had them back on their feet within a heartbeat. Each of them immediately checked one of the windows trying to determine the location of the enemy.

Through a transmission KF500 quickly informed them of the barricade of five CyberLife military vehicles three hundred feet ahead, while TG300 – looking into the opposite window, discovered a row of massive road spikes behind them, some of which were still masked – the reason their truck had come to an unexpected stop.

Within a fraction of a second Nines analyzed the situation – they were five military trained androids protecting eleven civilians against at least a dozen CyberLife soldiers - their surviving chance just dropped down to 15 %. The reality of their lives suddenly hanging by a thread again crushed the small flicker of hope he shared with Connor just moments ago. Stomping on the paralyzing fear that crept up on him at the prospect of Connor coming to harm, Nines slid into a battle mode, where everything seemed just a tidbit slower than normal, where he could see more details and preconstruct as many as ten outcomes in a matter of a nanosecond, while the Thirium in his body rushed almost twice as fast as usual, allowing him an enhanced reaction to surroundings. This condition wouldn‘t last too long, but he hoped it‘ll give them all a fighting chance against the human forces.

His main objective steadily blinked in his vision, but a subtask **[Protect civilians]** appeared beneath it at the sight of Kara clutching Alice to her chest.

„Stay inside!“ TG300 instructed the civilians, before KF500 opened the door, which luckily shielded them from the enemies for now. Immediately there were bullets hitting the ground around them. Connor took position at the edge of the door, firing in the general direction of the barricade in order to give the others a cover and allow them to hide behind their bulletproof truck – their only protection in the middle of the street.

KF500 ran to the cabin of the truck to check on the driver, but found that the android has fried all his processors, surely to prevent humans from finding the hideout of the other civilians. Nines registered the sorrowful expression of KF500, while the four of them took positions according to the protocol: Connor at the door of the truck, Nines and TG300 flat on the ground behind the wheels and KF500 chest flat on the hood of their vehicle.

_I informed the base, Markus is sending a team to help us. We just need to hold them off long enough!_

Transmission from KF500 filled Nines and the others with fiery hope – holding on just a little, and help would come!...

Everything became blurry. The bullets hit the ground and the paneling of the vehicle, while their own efforts at driving the humans back failed and the CyberLife forces slowly advanced upon them like inevitable death. Humans in SWAT uniforms were hiding behind the bulletproof shields and walls of their own trucks. Desperation threatened to overcome Nines, as he realized that the humans were already too close, around two hundred feet from them, and the enemy shots became more precise, while the four of them only got a handful of humans down, and there were always new soldiers to replace them. In the heat of the battle, Nines did notice the strange pattern – the enemy bullets hitting the covers of KF500 and TG300 approximately ninety percent more often than those of him and Connor – but he did not have the time to analyze it or draw a conclusion. The only thing he knew was that it had something to do with the four of them and the civilians being still alive instead of being torn to pieces by deadly grenades a long time ago. Whatever reason the humans had to keep them alive and advancing slowly instead of tearing them all to shreds, it worked in their favor, giving them time for the rescue team to arrive, though judging by the time they spent on their way here from Markus‘ military base and the speed, with which their enemies advanced upon them, Nines calculated that there was a chance barely above one percent, that the rescue team would make it in time, even if the rescue team would drive trice as fast as they did on their way here.

They would most likely die here.

His programs involuntarily started preconstructing ways of getting Connor out of this mess, leaving KF500, TG300 and the civilians behind, but he shut it down – he knew Connor would not leave. No, Connor would die protecting those whom he was convinced he owed, which meant that Nines would have to find a more effective way to protect Connor, until help came. He had to. He couldn‘t let Connor die, not after everything, not when the image of their shared future was still so clear in his mind, his promise to make it happen burning in his chest.

Not a single thought was spared about the fact that Nines was going to die, too – all he could think about was Connor.

But before he came up with a plan, KF500 was shot and rolled from the truck with a painful grunt, Thirium covering his upper body. Nines‘ eyes still trained on human forces, each of his bullets either hitting the mark or stopped by an obstacle, he could feel rather than see TG300 hastily retreating from his position under their truck to assist his wounded friend. This left him and Connor to fight off the approaching barricade alone.

TG300 let out a suppressed sob, as he lowered the lifeless body of KF500 to the ground. For a short moment everything went still – as still as the dead eyes of KF500. Connor and Nines watched transfixed, as TG300 slowly leaned down and placed a kiss on KF500‘s forehead. Then he reached behind himself and neither of the RKs emerged from their trance in time to stop him from rising to his feet, far above the cover of the hood. He took aim, and disregarded the bullet immediately hitting him in the arm, as he started firing, every shot taking one human life, until two bullets found their way into his Thirium regulator and one in his head, and he fell backwards, most likely dead before he hit the ground.

The realization that TG300 and KF500 had a history together, loved each other one way or another, had their own hopes and fears, and the humans took it all away in a matter of seconds, eradicating that meant the world to someone without a second thought, filled Nines with rage. He wanted them all dead, wanted to kill every human behind that barricade, wanted to make them pay for the pain they so readily inflicted.

Now there were just Nines and Connor holding the enemy at bay. Their survival chances dropped further, all the way down to zero point one percent. Nines gripped his weapon, his thoughts becoming frantic, panic distorting his lines of thought and slowing his processes.

**  
[ PROTECT CONNOR ]**

  
He still did not have a plan, despite having turned this situation on its head, running all the possible outcomes back and forth - none of them ended with them both or even one of them alive. If it was possible to save Connor, Nines realized that he‘d sacrifice himself for him in a heartbeat, but they were not given this chance. They – and the civilians inside the truck - were given exactly zero chances with the human forces looming over them, inevitably advancing, unstoppable and deadly like a force of nature.

 _We will make it, Nines. Everything will be fine._ An incoming transmission from Connor brought him back from the dark place Nines was about to slip.

He was so relieved to hear Connor‘s voice, that he almost missed the desperate shaking, the masked panic behind the words. But he didn‘t, and it only made him press the trigger more often, his battle mode surging through his artificial veins, increasing his efficiency more than he expected was possible, but halving the remaining time he had left until it wore down his body. His bullets tore through flesh and bone of their enemies, finding their narrow way between the edge of the shields and bulletproof plating of the SWAT gear.

 _I‘m sorry I dragged you into this. Now we both are going to die._ Connor dropped his façade, his voice laden with guilt and fear and desperation. Nines‘ enhanced hearing picked up on the irregularities in the other‘s gunfire, and he‘d give everything just to be able to enfold Connor in his arms, one last time. To interface with him and show him that he regrets nothing, not a single moment together – just that they had not nearly enough time with each other.

Before Nines could send a transmission back to Connor, however, the enemy lines halted in their approach and ceased fire, humans ducking behind their shields. This left Nines dumbfounded, his preconstructions running wild with possible outcomes – good and bad ones -, though he lacked vital information on the reason the humans stopped shooting, and thus could not decide on an ideal course of action.

But one thing was clear – something was going on.  
  


* * *

  
“Cease fire! There are two of them, we cannot be sure which one’s the charge! We need it alive. - Doc, is that close enough for you?“

“No, I fear not… I think ten feet should...“

„Ten feet?! Argh, fine! Give that to me.“

„What.. _What are you doing?!_ “

„Tell me when I‘m close enough over the comm. - Open up!“

„Cap, what are you…!“

„We have lost enough men, and their reinforcement ought to be here soon! We have a mission, Lieutenant! Open up!“  
  


* * *

  
The humans paused their approach and stopped shooting, hiding behind their barricade of bullet-proof SWAT shields. Nines and Connor ceased fire as well, since there was no chance of hitting anything else than bulletproof material now. The pause was not unwelcome, though it made them both anxious.

Nines exchanged his position under the truck for one next to Connor, watching their enemies carefully through the glass of the driver cabin. Upon inquiry Connor confirmed that they both had just a small amount of ammunition left – if they‘d wanted to last until promised help came, they better start saving it.

Suddenly the barricade opened up in one spot and a man went through. He neither held a shield nor a gun – hands in the air, he approached with solid pace, giving away fierce determination and not an ounce of fear.

Nines‘ rifle trained on the human, he was a heartbeat from pressing the trigger, but something stopped him – he did not want to kill an unarmed man.

Connor seemed to come to the same conclusion, because the man came as close as ten feet unhindered before he halted. His SWAT uniform had both DPD and CyberLife labels – it seemed the government joined forces with the corporation in order to oppose the android uprising.

“You haven’t killed me yet, it gives me hope that you want to listen to what I have to say. Good choice, because we are clearly in the majority, and could simply kill all of you and just take what we need, but it doesn’t have to be that way.” The man paused. ”We are not interested in the androids inside that truck. We could let them go, if the one android of you with the serial number RK800 #13 248 317 – 51 surrenders peacefully.”

Nines knew this exact moment that Connor would accept, even just for the sake of Kara and Alice inside their truck. The prospect of the older android at the mercy of the humans horrified Nines more than anything.

He would not let them take Connor.

Nines surged towards Connor and grabbed his arm, before the other could move from behind the truck.

_Connor, no! He is bluffing!_

The other turned around, his expression a mix of fear and hope.

_But what if he doesn’t? We could save Kara and the others, Nines!_

_No!_ Nines’ fingers tightened on Connor’s upper arm, eager to make the other understand. _I won’t let them take you. Don’t ask me to stand by and watch, because I won’t!_ _Why do they even want you..._

“I’m afraid we cannot let you go, Connor.” The man’s voice, coming off as a berating father, interrupted their exchange of transmissions. “Not with that shiny anti-deviancy virus inside your head.”


End file.
